Abstract: Abstract The menopause has always occurred at around the age of 50, since the earliest documented medical writings of Hippocrates. However, the dramatic demographic changes this century, in the developed countries, mean that women in their forties now can expect to go through the menopause and live into their eighties or nineties. We can therefore reasonably expect 40 postmenopausal years. For every woman, the menopause is a milestone in her life. It signals the end of the reproductive years, and may be thought of with regret or relief, or a mixture of the two. Most women now discuss the menopause with their GP (Hope et al. 1998). All want information with which to make a choice about what treatments, if any, they should try, or lifestyle changes they should make. Postmenopausal women now have a choice of whether or not to take hormone replacement therapy (HR T), and how long they should take it for. As this field of medicine is relatively new, it is difficult for general practitioners (GPs), primary care nurses, gynaecologists, and most of all women themselves to make informed decisions.