Hormones are crucial in nearly every aspect of our health, including heart function. While we often associate hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone with reproductive health, their impact extends far beyond fertility and libido. These hormones significantly affect cardiovascular health, influencing everything from cholesterol levels to blood vessel function. Understanding this connection helps you to take proactive steps to support hormonal balance and heart health. At Infinite Wellness, we help you put these pieces together by running comprehensive bloodwork, reviewing each biomarker with you, and then creating an individualized plan for you so that you can get to optimal health.
Estrogen, The Heart Protector
Estrogen is considered a protective hormone for the heart, particularly in premenopausal women. It plays a vital role in maintaining healthy blood vessels by:
- Promoting Vasodilation- Estrogen helps blood vessels expand, improving circulation, and reducing blood vessels.
- Regulating Cholesterol- Estrogen increases HDL (good cholesterol) and decreases LDL (bad cholesterol), which helps reduce plaque buildup in arteries.
- Reducing Inflammation- Chronic inflammation is a key driver of heart disease, and estrogen has anti-inflammatory properties that help to protect the cardiovascular system.
After menopause, when estrogen levels decline, women face an increased risk of heart disease. Research shares with us that, from a clinical perspective, the decline in E2 at menopause may contribute to the onset of cardiovascular disorders, such as atherosclerosis, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and other conditions that involve the microvasculature (1). This shift encourages the importance of maintaining heart-healthy habits, such as a balanced diet, regular exercise, and stress management, to compensate for the loss of estrogen’s protective effects.
Progesterone, The Balancing Hormone
While progesterone is often overlooked by estrogen, it also contributes to heart health in several ways:
- Maintaining Blood Pressure Stability: Progesterone has a natural diuretic effect, which can help prevent high blood pressure
- Reducing Arterial Stiffness: Progesterone helps to keep arteries flexible and support healthy circulation
- Counterbalancing Estrogen: While estrogen is protective, an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone (often seen in estrogen dominance) can contribute to heart-related and metabolic concerns. For those who are menstruating, it is important to test your hormones on days 19-21 of your cycle to help you understand your hormone ratio. Studies demonstrate that both progesterone and estradiol cause cell growth or proliferation – this is true in different tissues and in differing animal species. However, if the culture time is extended, then progesterone and estradiol have differing actions – progesterone is biphasic with initial proliferation followed by anti-proliferative and differentiation/maturation effects (2).
Optimal progesterone levels support overall cardiovascular function, highlighting the importance of hormonal balance rather than focusing on a single hormone.
Testosterone, More Than a Male Hormone
Testosterone is often labeled as a “male” hormone but is equally essential for women. When it comes to heart health, testosterone plays a role in:
- Regulating Blood Pressure: Adequate testosterone levels support vascular function and help prevent hypertension
- Enhancing Muscle Mass and Metabolism: Muscle health directly impacts cardiovascular function, as stronger muscles improve circulation and metabolic health.
- Modulating Inflammation: Like estrogen, testosterone, has anti-inflammatory effects that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Although testosterone deficiency is not considered a traditional risk factor for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), it is widely accepted that men experience a gradual decline in testosterone levels with increasing age and that male sex has long been considered a strong risk factor for CAD (3). Both low and excessively high levels of testosterone can negatively affect heart health, emphasizing the importance of balanced hormone levels.
Other Hormones That Support Cardiovascular Health:
While sex hormones have their place in supporting cardiovascular health, it is important to consider other systems that have constant hormonal communication. Remember, there are over 50 different hormones in our body that try to talk to each other all day long.
The O.A.T Triad is a concept that we like to use at Infinite Wellness to ensure that we are supporting your hormones as optimally as possible. The O.A.T Triad refers to the ovarian, adrenal, and thyroid hormone axis. Not only are these three systems connected, but they can also directly impact your cardiovascular system.
We talked about our ovarian hormones (estrogen and progesterone), but we can’t forget our adrenal hormones (AKA cortisol) and thyroid hormones.
The role that our adrenal hormones play in cardiovascular health is through modulating the balance of stress and high cortisol levels. Chronic stress and high cortisol levels lead to inflammation, insulin resistance, and increased belly fat– all common risk factors for heart disease. Research completed a study to identify how susceptible the cardiovascular system is to prolonged dysregulation of the HPA axis and glucocorticoid production (5). They found that if glucocorticoid levels remain chronically elevated due to exposure to chronic stress, pharmacological treatments, or endocrine disorders, pathologies, including an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, will develop (5). This is interesting but continues to highlight just how important it is to look at the body holistically.
The role that our thyroid hormones play in cardiovascular health is regulating our heart rate, circulation, and cholesterol metabolism. When thyroid hormones are low, you may experience high cholesterol, poor circulation, and a sluggish cardiovascular system. Research also shows that changes in thyroid status markedly influence cardiac contractile and electrical activity; increased or reduced action of TH on certain molecular pathways in the heart and vasculature causes relevant cardiovascular derangements (4).
In looking at the intricacies of this triad this is why heart health is just about what you eat and how much you exercise, it’s important to take a whole body preventative approach than just reducing your symptoms.
Supporting Hormonal and Heart Health Naturally
Given the strong link between hormones and heart health, taking a holistic approach to wellness ensures that you can achieve optimal well-being. Let’s highlight some of the practical strategies to support your hormones and cardiovascular health:
- Prioritize Nutrition: Focusing on a diet rich in whole foods, healthy fats, and antioxidants to support hormone production and cardiovascular function.
- Exercise Regularly: Engage in both cardiovascular and strength training exercises to promote circulation and metabolic health.
- Manage Stress: Chronic stress can disrupt hormonal balance and increase inflammation, both of which affect heart health.
- Get Quality Sleep: Poor sleep impacts hormone regulation and increases inflammation, both of which affect heart health.
- Consider Functional Testing: If you suspect hormonal imbalances, working with a practitioner to test and optimize your hormone levels can be a game-changer.
Putting It All Together
Your heart and hormones are deeply interconnected, and maintaining balance is key to long-term health. By understanding the role of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and other hormones in cardiovascular function, you can take informed steps to support both your hormonal and heart health.
At Infinite Wellness, we are committed to empowering you with knowledge and strategies to optimize your well-being. Feel free to follow us on Instagram @myinfinite_wellness, if you’d like to speak to one of our practitioners, sign up for a free consultation.
References:
- den Ruijter, Hester M., and Georgios Kararigas. “Estrogen and cardiovascular health.” Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 9 (2022): 886592.
- Prior, Jerilynn C. “Progesterone within ovulatory menstrual cycles needed for cardiovascular protection: an evidence-based hypothesis.” Journal of Restorative Medicine 3.1 (2014): 85-103.
- Elagizi, Andrew, Tobias S. Köhler, and Carl J. Lavie. “Testosterone and cardiovascular health.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Vol. 93. No. 1. Elsevier, 2018.
- Vargas-Uricoechea, Hernando, Anilsa Bonelo-Perdomo, and Carlos Hernán Sierra-Torres. “Effects of thyroid hormones on the heart.” Clínica e Investigación en Arteriosclerosis 26.6 (2014): 296-309.
- Burford, Natalie G., Natalia A. Webster, and Diana Cruz-Topete. “Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis modulation of glucocorticoids in the cardiovascular system.” International journal of molecular sciences 18.10 (2017): 2150.