Second Opinion: No Quick Fix for a Woman's Heart

It looks as though older women with heart disease who want to avoid further cardiovascular problems may have to do it the old-fashioned way: eat right, exercise and quit smoking. The much touted alternatives of hormone-replacement therapy and antioxidant vitamins may not cut it.

Those are the findings of research published in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association. The study found that hormone-replacement therapy does nothing to help the heart, confirming a conclusion that other researchers had already begun to reach. The true surprise was that large doses of two potent antioxidants--800 International Units of vitamin E and 1,000 mg of vitamin C--don't seem to increase the longevity of postmenopausal women with heart disease. Worse, suggest the researchers, the vitamins may increase the risk of death. Vitamin lovers were spooked by the results, but they may have got too scared too soon. Critics condemn the study as statistically flawed, particularly because of its small sample group (423 people). Even so, if you insist on popping vitamin pills, you may want to stick with a multivitamin, which everyone agrees is safe. --By Janice M. Horowitz