The significant increase in cardiovascular disease risk with the loss of es
trogen and progesterone at menopause has lead to increasing interest in the
cardiovascular influences of female reproductive hormones. In addition to
direct influences of estrogen to promote endothelium-dependent vasodilation
, recent evidence demonstrates important influences of both estrogen and pr
ogesterone on the neural control of the peripheral circulation. These influ
ences have been studied in two general contexts. First, the effects of thes
e hormones on the sympathetic control of the cutaneous circulation have rec
eived substantial attention. The control of neurogenic vasodilation in the
skin in response to hyperthermia is shifted to higher and lower internal te
mperatures by progesterone and estrogen, respectively. Reflex vasoconstrict
or control of skin blood flow is shifted to higher internal temperatures wh
en the hormones are elevated. Second, reproductive hormones have recently b
een shown to significantly alter sympathetic neural control of the skeletal
muscle circulation. Sympathetic neural control of the skeletal muscle circ
ulation (measured directly as muscle sympathetic nerve activity [MSNA]) is
altered by hormone status such that resting MSNA is decreased by estrogen,
as is the MSNA response to exercise. Furthermore, the baroreflex control of
MSNA is significantly modified by estrogen and progesterone. Therefore, fe
male reproductive hormones have widespread influences on the sympathetic co
ntrol of the circulation in humans. The individual influences of estrogen a
nd progesterone often antagonize one another, and when both hormone concent
rations are increased, the net effect probably depends on their relative co
ncentrations and bioactivity. The mechanisms responsible for these influenc
es and their health-related implications deserve further attention.