HCM and Birth Control Pills

[dsymanow]

Does anyone know whether birth control pills (e.g., estrogen and progesterone) have a risk of increasing the rate at which HCM progresses?

There is some literature that indicates that estrogen-like compounds in soy milk can cause HCM to rapidly progress in males. I haven't been able to find any information as to whether there is a comparable risk in females from exposure to estrogen or progesterone in medications.

Thanks.

(FYI, if (like me) you are from a family that has a history of HCM, and you have infant children, you might want to discuss with your cardiologist the soy milk study before using any soy milk-based baby formula with your kids. I was very surprised by the report of increased HCM progression due to estrogen-like compounds in soy milk. The original study was on mice, but some follow-up papers suggested it is possible in humans - the authors cite it as possible evidence of an environmental factor that may explain the variability of the expression of the disease in some cases.)

[Reenie]

To the best of my knowledge there is no correlation between birth control pills and progression of HCM.

Reenie

[Pam Alexson]

I have no clue about this but for some time I have wondered about hormones and HCM and triggers.

When I was in my early 30ties I took birth control pills for the first time. I did not last long on them, several months, as they made me feel like my head would pop off and my BP went up and my anxiety and tension was unbearable.
Later on in my mid forties , I was diagnosed with insulin resistant diabetis and the start of menopause was also occuring. My weight was increasing rapidly and the endocrinologist confirmed that I had also had polycystic ovarian syndrome most of my life. She said this led to the diabetis , weight gain and the high blood pressure. She started me on estrogen for the menopause, glucophage( metformin ) for the diabetis and for the polycystic ovarian disease. My uterus had been removed so I did not need the progesterone. Well I began to feel worse and worse and that choking head popping off sensation returned and the BP went up again. My face was always flushed after that and my heart beat through my chest like a locomotive full steam ahead, stopped the estrogen after several months. Then started St Johns Wart for depression for about 6 months because I was told I must be depressed and that was giving these perculiar symptoms and making my BP go up. Within 3 years things were much, much worse and I was diagnosed with HOCM with a very high gradient and CHF, COPD, sleep apnea etc, etc.

I have always wondered about the influence of hormones on HCM. In particular my concern now for my kidos,2 youngest children 20 and 25 were on pro soybee formula for years due to lactose intolerance from birth and the oldest 26, has polycystic ovarian syndrome with elevated testosterone level, infertile and was recently started on glucophage . I am afraid she is heading down a path of concern. They will next be trying hormone therapy on her and it makes me very nervous. She says some nights she can not sleep cause her heart pounds so hard and , she experiences recurring episodes of presyncope during the day, and she has gained a lot of weight. The 25 year old is expecting and says her heart pounds often and beats funny. The 20 year old says he gets head whooshes. I think there is a lot of stress in the Alexson family these days.
Presently no murmur in any of them but as we all know this disease is sneaky and varies in families.

I have heard of the environmental triggers that the researchers talk about with regards to possible triggers in combination with other things that could possibly provoke the proliferation of HCM.

Can you tell me where to find the article, I would like to read it? In the meantime I will search also. I need to investigate this.

Thanks,

Pam

[Lisa Salberg]

It is a very good question and one that I will pass by our medical advisors and get some input about. I do not think there is any connection - but there well may be.

Further the soy study was a very limited study on lab mice who are geneticly altered to have HCM. Therefore it is not advised to attempt to use those findings in daily life as there may be other issues that have yet to be resolved that could also have negative effects. Also the study, while very interesting has yet to be reproduced.

Lisa

[Pam Alexson]

Thanks Lisa.

I found the article:

Soy Might Worsen Heart Condition
Male mice prone to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy did better on milk-protein diet, study finds
By Janice Billingsley
HealthDay Reporter



WEDNESDAY, Jan. 4 (HealthDay News) -- In an animal study showing strong links between diet and a specific type of heart disease, researchers report that consuming soy might adversely affect the condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

University of Colorado scientists found that when male mice who carried a gene mutation associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease in which the heart muscle thickens abnormally, were taken off their normal soy diets, their heart function improved significantly compared to HCM male mice who stayed with soy. Female mice with HCM did not show the same significant change.

"I was struck by the massive impact that diet had on so many functions of the heart -- the all-encompassing effect of diet was so striking," said study co-author Leslie A. Leinwand, chairman of the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the university.

That said, Leinwand is not sounding the clarion call for those with heart disease to avoid soy.

"I would feel pretty uncomfortable making any kind of recommendation about what physicians should say to patients, as these are mice, not humans," she said.

HCM is a cardiovascular disease occurring in one of every 500 individuals, according to the American Heart Association. Usually caused by a genetic mutation, the disease creates abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, which interferes with the healthy function of the heart. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, chest discomfort and palpitations that may be a sign of life-threatening arrhythmias, Leinwand said.

Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are at higher risk for sudden death than the normal population, and can be affected at a young age. HCM is a well-known cause of sudden death in athletes, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The study findings appear in the Jan. 4 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

For the study, researchers compared the heart function of male and female mice with HCM when given either soy diets or milk-protein diets. They also compared the effects of a soy diet and a milk-protein diet on healthy male and female mice without HCM.

They found that the male mice with HCM had significantly improved healthy heart growth and function on the milk-protein diet compared to the HCM male mice on the soy diet, Leinwand said. The female HCM mice did not show the same difference.

Leinwand said that difference in responses between the female mice and the male mice might be related to the fact that the female mice already had high levels of estrogen, so the effect of the estrogens in their soy diet were not as strong as the effect in the male mice.

The reason why soy might adversely affect the HCM mice needs further study since the researchers don't know why it happened, Leinwand said.

Craig T. Basson, director of cardiovascular research in the department of medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City, who wrote a commentary that accompanied the study, said the finding was an important contribution to research looking at how environmental factors influence heart disease.

"We always speculate about how environmental factors influence cardiovascular disease, and this is the first time we've had clear data about the environment," he said. "It opens the door to some very exciting clinical interventions down the line."

Soybean products are often promoted by health advocates because they're a low-fat alternative source of protein, and they possibly reduce the risks of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. However, many studies on soy are inconclusive and often contradictory.

"We're not trying to say that soy is bad, but that a soy diet can have a significant impact on certain organ systems, including the heart. For the normal, healthy mouse, a soy diet doesn't seem to be either harmful or beneficial, but in the context of this particular disease, soy has a detrimental effect on male mice," Leinwand said.

Interestingly, Leinwand noted, the original intent of their work was to look at how sex differences affect heart disease. As laboratory animals are routinely fed soy diets, and soy contains plant estrogens, the scientists took the mice off the soy and put them on milk-protein diets to better compensate for the differing male and female hormones.

Their discovery of the significant improvement in the heart function of those male mice with HCM who had been switched to the milk-protein diet prompted them to change the focus of their work.

"We were completely surprised," she said.

More information

The Mayo Clinic gives the lowdown on soy.

(SOURCES: Leslie A. Leinwand, Ph.D., professor and chairwoman, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder; Craig T. Basson, M.D., Ph.D., director, Cardiovascular Research, Greenberg Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York City; Jan. 4, 2006, Journal of Clinical Investigation)

Copyright © 2006 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.

HealthDayNews articles are derived from various sources and do not reflect federal policy. healthfinder® does not endorse opinions, products, or services that may appear in news stories. For more information on health topics in the news, visit the healthfinder® health library.



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[Burton Borrok]

Well, I’m a 74 year old male, and I stay far away from both soy milk and estrogen. Does that mean I’m safe from HCM? There are many doctors around here that keep trying to talk me out of it. But then, they are too busy to bother with checking my history.

Actually, the reason I am writing is that when my daughter was an infant she had celiac syndromes and could not tolerate milk or a long list of other things. At that time she was put on Probana – a formula based on bananas. I do not think this product is available any longer as a quick search of Google only brought up references from Denmark, but I expect there is some form of banana based formula that could replace soy milk for those who wish to make the switch for children intolerant of milk or milk byproducts.
Burt

[dsymanow]

Pam -

I found the original article I read, it is located here:

http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/full/116/1/16

There are other articles in medical journals where various doctors discuss the possible implications of this study. I found them by browsing the web but didn't think to save the URLs for them. I didn't find anything that gave a conclusive answer one way or the other.

And to everyone, thanks for your replies.

[Pam Alexson]

Thank you. It was interesting. I recommend all reading this and the other article following it . I would love to hear what our experts have to say regarding this data. Would have been a good question to present to the panel of expert docs in NJ last June.

As stated earlier I have always had concerns about many unknown or suspected triggers to the developement or proliferation of HCM.
I believe strongly that a combination of any could easily spur this disease forward.

Long before I was diagnosed or had even heard the word HCM I took estrogen but interspersed with that I had other things going on one of which I felt severly impacted my heart. The suicide of my 18 year old nephew left me with the feeling that physically my heart was broken and I felt very strong cardiac symptoms to support that. I have since read about, "Broken Heart Syndrome," a very real and potentially life threatening phenomena, that I also feel could have contributed in my case. As well, I had come out of several additional very serious losses prior to my nephews death and I then also found out I was working in a very polluted environment. All of these things I felt were changing me physically and resulted in further declining health inspite of all my attempts to care for myself.

Perhaps someday we will have the answers to all these questions and I am happy for any research that is being done.

Thanks again for the info.

Pam

Pam