Menopause may influence negatively the cardiovascular system of women, especially that of smokers. The aim of
our study was to compare lipid levels and left ventricular function in postmenopausal women smokers and non-smokers
during 12 months of oral estrogen replacement therapy. The study group included healthy postmenopausal women, 30
smokers and 32 non-smokers. Before and in 6 month intervals the following parameters were followed: total cholesterol,
LDL-, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure and echocardiographic parameters of systolic and diastolic left
ventricular function. Before therapy non-smokers had higher total and LDL-cholesterol, when compared to smokers. Oral
estrogen replacement therapy significantly decreased levels of total and LDL-cholesterol and increased HDL-cholesterol,
only in non-smokers. No change in lipid levels was observed in smokers. However, women who smoked longer had higher
triglyceride levels after 12 months of oral estrogen replacement therapy. Echocardiography revealed significant improvement of systolic and diastolic left ventricular function in non-smokers, while improvement of only systolic function in
smokers. Our study has shown that 12 months of oral estrogen replacement therapy may not have a protective role on the
cardiovascular system of postmenopausal women smokers