[Should all menopausal women have hormone replacement therapy for the prevention of coronary disease?].

A review of the biochemical changes which occur after menopause. Menopause is the onset of a chronic hypoestrogenism. The lack of estrogens which follows either a premature oophorectomy or menopause is a cause of risk factors and diseases at several levels, amongst which, due to its importance, is the cardiovascular system. Estrogens can favorably modify those risk factors and thus contribute to a sharp decrease in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. For this reason, its use is legitimate for the primary and secondary prevention of coronary disease.