DOCTORS in the region have found more evidence that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help to reduce the risk of heart disease in women.

Their study, published in the Journal of Medical Screening could even lead to a new way of identifying women at risk of heart disease.

Radiologists at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, noticed that women taking HRT seemed to have fewer signs of hardened arteries.

To find out whether there was a link, they screened 4,400 women as part of routine breast cancer checks and then looked for signs of hardened arteries. They found that women who were on HRT had about half the rate of furred-up arteries of those not taking the treatment.

Dr Julie Cox, a specialist registrar at the hospital's department of radiology, said the idea for the study came from now-retired consultant radiologist Dr William Simpson.

Dr Cox said a larger study was needed to confirm the results and to take into consideration variables such as high blood pressure and smoking.

But if breast screening can be used to identify women suffering from arterial calcification, it could be useful to family doctors, who may then want to prescribe HRT, she said.

Hardening of the arteries may be sign of underlying vascular disease, including diabetes and high blood pressure, and be a risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

The women, aged between 49 and 66, were screened for breast abnormalities and asked about their use of HRT.