Hormone replacement therapy and 24-hour blood pressure profile of postmenopausal women.
Menopause is associated with an increase in blood pressure (BP) and a decrease in physiologic nocturnal BP fall. These factors may play a role in the increased risk of cardiovascular events after menopause. Some studies indicate that transdermal estrogen replacement therapy may help restore the 24-h BP profile, but data on the effect of oral conjugated estrogens are lacking. We compared 24-h ambulatory BP profiles of 42 postmenopausal women not receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and 20 women receiving HRT. HRT was associated with a significant increase in the proportion of dippers (50% in women not receiving HRT and 80% in women receiving HRT, P = .048). Increase in nocturnal dipping may account, in part, for the beneficial cardiovascular effects of HRT.
Butkevich
A
A
Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York 10029, USA.
Abraham
C
C
Phillips
R A
RA
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*