Hormone replacement therapy and 24-hour blood pressure profile of postmenopausal women

Menopause is associated with an increase in blood pressure (BP) and a decre ase in physiologic nocturnal BP fall. These factors may play a role in the increased risk of cardiovascular events after menopause. Some studies indic ate that transdermal estrogen replacement therapy may help restore the 24-h BP profile, but data on the effect of oral conjugated estrogens are lackin g. We compared 24-h ambulatory BP profiles of 42 postmenopausal women not r eceiving 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). Inc rease in nocturnal dipping may account, in part, for the beneficial cardiov ascular effects of HRT. Am J Hypertens 2000;13:1039-1041 (C) 2000 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.