Administration of raloxifene does not influence 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure of postmenopausal women with osteopenia: a double-blind placebo-controlled study

Because estrogens may decrease 24-hour blood pressure of postmenopausal women, we tested the effect of the selective estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene on ambulatory blood pressure.Postmenopausal women with osteopenia who were otherwise healthy were assigned randomly in a double blind-fashion to receive placebo (n = 16 women) or raloxifene (60 mg/d, n = 16 women). Before and after 4 months, the blood pressure of each woman was monitored every 30 minutes for 41 hours with the use of an ambulatory device.Similar to the placebo outcome, the raloxifene administration did not modify 24-hour daytime (7 AM -11 PM) and nighttime (11 PM -7 AM) blood pressure and heart rate values. Day-night differences and the 24-hour rhythmic variation of mean blood pressure, which was evaluated by cosinor analysis, were also not affected by placebo or by raloxifene.Raloxifene does not influence 24-hour blood pressure of postmenopausal women. These data are reassuring for the cardiovascular safety of the long-term raloxifene administration.