Sex Hormones across the Menstrual Cycle in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Adding a New Layer of Complexity

Austin discusses the study of Baird et al which investigates the issue of sex hormone variation over the course of a menstrual cycle in women of reproductive age with heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The authors provide a detailed look at a small cohort of PAH patients and controls, associating variations in sex hormones with phenotypic changes relevant to the PAH condition. The current study advances our understanding of the interaction of sex hormones and PAH, including potential modulation of the clinical condition over the course of a menstrual cycle. And it is an important reminder that studies of sex hormone associations in PAH must account for expected cyclic variations among women of reproductive age.