Hormonal contraception is the most widely used method to prevent unplanned pregnancies. The literature has shown an association between cardiovascular risk and use of hormone therapy. With the purpose of providing better guidelines on contraception methods for women with risk factors for cardiovascular disease, we have reviewed the literature on the subject. This review describes the latest dat...

Data are not yet available for ATP, but using thrombin as an agonist it has been shown that the initial transient rise in [Ca2+Ii is both necessary and sufficient to account for PGI, release (Hallam et al., 1988). ATP, like thrombin, also opens receptor-operated Ca? +-selective channels in endothelial cells (Hallam & Pearson, 1986) and these may be more important for EDRF production. Similar AT...

The mammalian circulatory system comprises both the cardiovascular system and the lymphatic system. In contrast to the blood vascular circulation, the lymphatic system forms a unidirectional transit pathway from the extracellular space to the venous system. It actively regulates tissue fluid homeostasis, absorption of gastrointestinal lipids, and trafficking of antigen-presenting cells and lymp...

characteristic. Bamberger’ nearly a century ago pointed out that cardiac enlargement is found in many patients suffering from anemia. The extent to which the functional activity of the cardiovascular apparatus is affected by anemia, however, is not so generally appreciated. Changes in the heart and circulation develop in part in response to needs arising from the lack of hemoglobin and thus of ...

Nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasodilator, has cardioprotective effects, including regulation of blood flow and inhibition of platelet aggregation. In vascular endothelium, oestrogens increase synthesis of NO and expression of NO synthase (NOS) [1]. In this issue of Clinical Science, Teerlink et al. [2] report the results of a long-term controlled trial in healthy postmenopausal women, which show...