Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2010 Oct;82(4):366-72.
doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2010.03.009. Epub 2010 Apr 27.

A combined oral contraceptive containing 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol and 3.0 mg drospirenone does not impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation

Jessica R Meendering  1 , Britta N Torgrimson, Nicole P Miller, Paul F Kaplan, Christopher T Minson
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

A combined oral contraceptive containing 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol and 3.0 mg drospirenone does not impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation

Jessica R Meendering et al. Contraception. 2010 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Ethinyl estradiol (EE) increases endothelium-dependent vasodilation in young women, but certain progestins paired with EE in combination oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) have been shown to antagonize the vasodilatory effects of EE. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how endothelial function, serum biomarkers and resting blood pressures change across an OCP cycle in women using a monophasic OCP formulation containing the progestin drospirenone.

Study design: Twelve women were studied during two hormone phases of their OCP cycle: once at the end of 3 weeks of active pills (30 mcg EE and 3.0 mg drospirenone) and once at the end of a week of placebo pills (no exogenous hormones)

Results: Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was greater during the active phase compared to the placebo phase (p<.001). In contrast, there was no difference in endothelium-independent dilation between hormone phases.

Conclusion: These data suggest that the combination of 30 mcg EE and 3.0 mg drospirenone used in the active phase of this OCP increases endothelium-dependent vasodilation compared to a placebo phase.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Meendering JR, Torgrimson BN, Miller NP, Kaplan PF, Minson CT. Ethinyl estradiol to desogestrel ratio impacts endothelial function in young women. Contraception. 2008;79:41–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Torgrimson BN, Meendering JR, Miller NP, Kaplan PF, Minson CT. Endothelial function, endothelin-1, and fibrinogen in young women using the vaginal contraceptive ring. Fertil Steril. 2009;92:441–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Torgrimson BT, Meendering JR, Kaplan PF, Minson CT. Endothelial function across an oral contraceptive cycle in women using leveonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2007;288:H103–H110. - PubMed
    1. Lizarelli PM, Martins WP, Vieira CS, et al. Both a combined oral contraceptive and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate impair endothelial function in young women. Contraception. 2009;79:35–40. - PubMed
    1. Stanczyk FZ. All progestins are not created equal. Steroids. 2003;68:879–90. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances