IIT Madras, University of Minnesota collaborate to study the impact of oral contraceptives on blood pressure of women

The research was conducted to study the impact of oral contraceptives on the blood pressure of women who engage in dynamic exercises.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and University of Minnesota, U.S. Researchers have collaborated to study the impact of oral contraceptives on the blood pressure of women who engage in dynamic exercises.

The research was equivocal on whether blood pressure was influenced by hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, stated a press release. (Photo credit: Unplash)

As per a press release, the research was equivocal on whether blood pressure was influenced by hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle.

The research team identified that both oral contraceptive use and general fluctuations in endogenous ovarian hormone (like estrogens) in young women (20-25 years of age), did not influence blood pressure with lower body exercise and activation of skeletal muscle sensory neurons, which are known to contribute to exaggerated blood pressure responses in people with cardiovascular diseases.

Dr Manda Keller Ross and Miguel Anselmo from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, U.S, and Dr Ninitha A.J., Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras were the lead researchers of the study.

Dr Ninitha AJ. received support through the Science and Engineering Research Board’s ‘Core Research’ Grant while Prof. Manda Keller Ross was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S, the release said.

Furthermore, the findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

Highlighting the research, Dr Ninitha A.J., Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology at IIT Madras, pointed out that as per a study by Martin and colleagues, around 70 % of female athletes took oral contraceptives at a point in their career and therefore, it was important to understand how they affect blood pressure.

“The findings of this study have wide application and are of importance as it sheds light on the influence of oral contraceptives on blood pressure response to exercise in women,” Dr Ninitha said.

Dr Manda Keller Ross, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota said there is little information on how the EPR changes in women across the lifespan. “Menopause, the cessation of hormone production in the ovaries, occurs at around 50 years old, and cardiovascular risk increases in women throughout and after the menopause transition.”

“The next step of this work is to determine if the EPR is a contributing factor to the cardiovascular risk in menopausal females,” Dr Ross added.

As per the research, “Exercise can acutely increase blood pressure due to increased sympathetic nerve activity (fight or flight) from skeletal muscle sensory neurons known as ‘Exercise Pressor Reflex’ (EPR). The EPR results in an increase in blood flow from the heart to the skeletal muscle to meet the needs of the muscle. The EPR is known to be greater in males compared with premenopausal females and is also known to be exaggerated in people with cardiovascular disease.”

In the study, researchers demonstrated that regardless of the phase of the menstrual cycle or oral contraceptive use, the EPR was similar in women, suggesting that oral contraceptives do not increase the blood pressure response in women, particularly in those who do not use oral contraceptives.