title: Exercise echocardiography in postmenopausal hormone users with mild systemic hypertension.
abstract: Rest and exercise echocardiography (at dynamic and isometric exercise) were performed in 30 postmenopausal women (aged 54 +/- 4 years) with borderline to mild hypertension. They were then divided into 2 groups: 17 women who started oral hormone replacement therapy (0.625 mg/day conjugated estrogens or 2 mg/day estradiol) and a control group of 13 nonusers. After 6 to 9 months, a second echocardiography was performed in 26 women (4 withdrew). There were only a few changes in values obtained in the 12 controls at the end of follow-up compared with baseline. Primarily, these changes included a slight decrease in systolic blood pressure at rest and on exercise. Several significant morphologic and hemodynamic alterations appeared in 14 hormone users. Left ventricular cavity dimensions and mass became smaller: mean end-diastolic diameter decreased from 45.9 +/- 3 mm at baseline to 44.4 +/- 3 mm at study termination (p = 0.007). The corresponding values for end-systolic diameter were 25.8 +/- 4 mm and 23.9 +/- 4 mm (p = 0.006); for left atrium diameter, it was 34.5 +/- 4 mm and 32.5 +/- 4 mm (p = 0.001); for left ventricular wall width, it was 19.9 +/- 2 mm and 19.3 +/- 2 mm (p = 0.02); for left ventricular mass, it was 197 +/- 28 g and 179 +/- 32 g (p = 0.006). The resting aortic blood flow velocity and acceleration increased: 119 +/- 18 cm/s before therapy versus 129 +/- 23 cm/s while on hormone substitution (p = 0.04), and 13.6 +/- 3 m/s2 versus 16.5 +/- 4 m/s2 (p = 0.008), respectively. Mean rest to peak exercise systolic blood pressure difference became smaller after hormones: 39 +/- 19 mm Hg versus 28 +/- 13 mm Hg (p = 0.03) during dynamic exercise, and 43 +/- 22 mm Hg versus 25 +/- 13 mm Hg (p = 0.004) during isometric exercise. The above data probably indicate that with hormone replacement therapy, there is an improvement in cardiac function both at rest and during exercise.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine "T", Timsit Institute of Reproductive Endocrinology, Tel-Aviv Elias Sourasky Medical Center, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pines
authors.forename: E Z
authors.initials: EZ
authors.lastname: Fisman
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shapira
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Drory
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eckstein
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Levo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Averbuch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motro
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Rotmensch
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ayalon
mesh_terms: D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens