What is natural progesterones role in cardiovascular health?
Natural progesterone may have a protective effect on the heart. Recent research showed that natural progesterone helped reduce spasms of the coronary arteries. Blood vessel occlusion by cholesterol plaques combined with vasoconstriction can severely restrict blood flow to the heart, resulting in a “heart attack”. In a study by Miyagawa, et al, progesterone plus estradiol was protective against vasospasm, whereas estradiol plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (a synthetic progestin) allowed vasospasm, concluding that medroxyprogesterone increased the risk of coronary vasospasm, while natural progesterone did not. (Miyagawa K, Rosch J, Stanczyk F, and Hermsmeyer K: Medroxyprogesterone interferes with ovarian steroid protection against coronary vasospasm. Nature Medicine, Vol. 3, No. 3, 324-327.
