Open AccessAnti-ischemic Action of Estrogen-Progestogen Continuous Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy in Postmenopausal Women with Established Angina Pectoris: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group Trial
Author(s) -
John E. Sanderson,
Christopher J. Haines,
Ling-Fung Yeung,
Gabriel Wai-Kwok Yip,
Kare Tang,
So Fan Yim,
Lars N. Jorgensen,
Jean Woo
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of cardiovascular pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1533-4023
pISSN - 0160-2446
DOI - 10.1097/00005344-200109000-00006
Subject(s) - placebo , progestogen , medicine , estrogen , hormone replacement therapy (female to male) , norethisterone , menopause , hormone therapy , placebo controlled study , norethisterone acetate , angina , endocrinology , double blind , breast cancer , population , myocardial infarction , alternative medicine , environmental health , pathology , cancer , research methodology , testosterone (patch)
The benefit of treating postmenopausal women with established cardiovascular disease with combined estrogen-progestogen hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is controversial. This study investigated the effect of treatment with estradiol and norethisterone acetate on exercise tolerance and on the frequency and severity of ischemic attacks in postmenopausal women with stable angina pectoris. A total of 74 Chinese women were recruited for this 16-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. They were randomly allocated into two groups; one group received placebo/placebo/placebo and the other group received placebo/estrogen-progestogen/placebo. Estrogen-progestogen continuous combined HRT increased both time to 1-mm ST depression (99.1 s, p < 0.05) compared with a mean decrease of 22.9 s with placebo (p < 0.05), and total exercise duration also showed a significant increase (32.7 s, p < 0.05) after treatment compared with placebo (2.5 s, p < 0.05). In addition, the total number of ischemic events/24 h during ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring decreased by 0.82 events after treatment (p < 0.05) compared with an increase in the placebo group (0.94), a highly significant difference (p = 0.006). These results suggest that the administration of this particular combined hormone replacement preparation may have a beneficial effect on myocardial ischemia in postmenopausal women with established coronary disease.