ACUTE HEMODYNAMIC-EFFECTS OF ESTROGEN ADMINISTRATION IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) seems to protect postmenopausal wom en from cardiovascular disease, and the underlying mechanism is most l ikely multifactorial,(1) The effects of estrogen on systemic hemodynam ics in nonpregnant women have not been extensively studied, Plasma vol ume, stroke volume, and cardiac output increase, whereas systemic vasc ular resistances fall during ovulation induction(2) as well as during oral contraceptive administration,(3,4) but studies on the hemodynamic effects of ERT, which represents a much smaller effective dose of est rogen, are limited as only information from Doppler-derived parameters is available. In this study, the acute hemodynamic changes of convent ional doses of conjugated estrogens, administered incrementally as an intravenous bolus, were investigated using a thermodilution pulmonary artery catheter.