What Is HRT? Hormone Replacement Therapy, Explained (2026)

HRT stands for hormone replacement therapy (you will also see "menopausal hormone therapy" or MHT in medical writing - same thing). The idea is in the name: through perimenopause and menopause, the ovaries wind down production of estrogen and progesterone, and the symptoms that follow - covered below - trace back to that decline.

HRT replaces what declined, at doses meant to relieve symptoms. One important scoping note: this article covers menopause-related HRT for women; testosterone therapy for men is a different treatment with its own rules - the differences are in is HRT the same as TRT.

The strongest case is the classic menopause cluster: hot flashes and night sweats (where HRT remains the most effective treatment available), the sleep disruption they cause, mood changes tied to the transition, and the genitourinary symptoms - dryness, discomfort, urinary changes - that tend to worsen rather than pass with time. Estrogen also protects bone, which is part of the long-term conversation with your clinician.

What it is not: an anti-aging cure-all, and a legitimate prescriber will frame it around your actual symptoms, not a promise of turning back clocks. If you are not sure whether what you are feeling is perimenopause yet, start with perimenopause vs menopause.

Because the two hormones have different jobs in treatment. Estrogen does the symptom-relief work - and for a woman who still has her uterus, taking estrogen alone lets the uterine lining build up, which is why progesterone (or a progestin) is added to protect it.

Women who have had a hysterectomy typically use estrogen alone. This single distinction explains most of the "estrogen vs progesterone" confusion in search results, and it is one of the first things a prescriber sorts out from your history.

Through an evaluation, and it has gotten dramatically easier to get one. Telehealth menopause providers - Midi and Winona among the ones we review - run the intake, history and clinician consultation online, and prescribe when appropriate.

The decision weighs your symptoms, your medical history, and timing relative to menopause; there are real contraindications, which is exactly why this runs through a licensed clinician and not a checkout page. Our HRT provider comparison maps the options, and how to get HRT online walks the process.

For the balanced picture before you decide, read the pros and cons of HRT. This article is general information, not medical advice.