Lack of Effect of Estrogen on Rest and Treadmill Exercise in Postmenopausal Women Without Known Cardiac Disease

• Published in: The American journal of cardiology Vol. 80; no. 6; pp. 793 - 797
• Main Authors: Lee, Millie, Giardina, Elsa-Grace V, Homma, Shunichi, DiTullio, Marco R, Sciacca, Robert R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 15-09-1997; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Blood pressure; Cardiovascular disease; Cholesterol; Cross-Over Studies; Echocardiography; Electrocardiography - drug effects; Estradiol - blood; Estrogens; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) - pharmacology; Exercise; Exercise Test - drug effects; Female; Heart; Heart attacks; Hemodynamics - drug effects; Hormones. Endocrine system; Humans; Medical sciences; Menopause; Middle Aged; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Postmenopause - drug effects; Postmenopause - physiology; Rest; Single-Blind Method; Hormone; Human; Replacement therapy; Menopause; Estrogen; Sex; Exploration; Electrodiagnosis; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Exercise tolerance test; Female; Circulatory system; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0002-9149; 1879-1913
• DOI: 10.1016/S0002-9149(97)00521-3

To assess the peripheral vascular effects of estrogen in women without coronary disease, normal postmenopausal women (mean age 56 +/- 8 years) participated in a randomized, crossover trial using treadmill exercise echocardiography, and received oral conjugated estrogen, 0.625 mg/day or underwent a drug-free period. There was no significant effect on heart rate, blood pressure, double product, left ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic diameters, or electrocardiographic measures after estrogen. In contrast to the profound effects reported in patients with cardiac disease, oral estrogen in normal women does not bestow significant benefit on treadmill exercise echocardiographic variables at rest or during modest levels of exercise.