Estradiol and Hemodynamics during Ovulation Induction*

Abstract

Left ventricular size and stroke volume increase in human pregnancy and during estrogen administration in laboratory animals. In order to determine if elevated levels of endogenous estrogens in humans produce hemodynamic changes similar to those that occur during pregnancy, 14 patients were studied during ovulation induction at day 8 +/- 2 (SD) (proliferative phase) and at day 14 +/- 4 (midcycle) of their cycles. M-mode echocardiography was carried out with the patient in the left lateral decubitus, head down and head up positions. The mean serum estradiol level was 294 +/- 234 (SD) pg ml-1 at day 8 +/- 2 (treatment day) and it increased to 1503 +/- 531 pg ml-1 at day 14 +/- 4 (cycle day) of the same cycle. This change in serum estradiol was significant (P less than 0.001), associated with an increase in left ventricle diastolic dimension of 2.3 +/- 1.1 mm (P less than 0.001). During the same time period stroke volume and cardiac index correspondingly increased. Heart rate, fractional shortening, and blood pressure did not change and systemic vascular resistance decreased. Many of the cardiovascular adaptations of pregnancy are duplicated by high levels of endogenous estrogens and these changes are evident in as few as 6 days. Thus, we conclude that changes in endogenous estrogen correlate with certain cardiovascular parameters, the most striking of which is the left ventricular size. This may be one of the adaptive mechanisms by which the maternal circulation adapts to pregnancy.