In normal postmenopausal women physiologic estrogen replacement therapy fails to improve exercise tolerance: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to test whether estrogen replacement therapy could increase exercise tolerance in postmenopausal women. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in 31 healthy postmenopausal women who received 12 weeks of physiologic estrogen replacement therapy (micronized estradiol, 2 mg/day) and were evaluated with modified Balke exercise treadmill tests. RESULTS: Serum estradiol levels increased significantly during replacement therapy in this cohort of female volunteers with a mean age of 59 years, and resting heart rate was lower in women receiving estrogen replacement ( p p CONCLUSION: Estrogen replacement therapy, which achieves serum estradiol concentrations in the physiologic range for 12 weeks, fails to increase exercise tolerance or improve cardiovascular response to exercise in postmenopausal women. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1996;175:110-4.)