Swica Y, et al. - Researchers sought to assess the effect of menopausal hormone therapy on incident hypertension in the two Women's Health Initiative hormone therapy trials and in extended postintervention follow-up. Enrolling 27,347 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years at 40 US centers, they recognized a subsample of 18,015 women who did not report hypertension at baseline and were not taking antihypertensive medication. They noted an increased risk of hypertension in association with conjugated equine estrogens (0.625 mg/d) administered orally, with or without medroxyprogesterone acetate. Further study is required to assess if lower doses, different estrogen formulations, or transdermal route of administration offer lower risks.