To test the hypothesis that circulating endogenous estradiol is associated with stroke risk in older postmenopausal women. Stroke incidence increases after menopause, when endogenous estrogen levels fall, yet exogenous estrogen increases strokes in older postmenopausal women. The relation between endogenous estrogen and stroke is unclear.
Division of Endocrinology, Clinical Nutrition, and Vascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California-Davis, 4150 V Street, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. jswlee@ucdavis.edu
