High concentrations of estrogen have been shown to attenuate myocardial hypertrophy and left ventricular remodeling. However, the effects of low concentration of estrogen observed in postmenopausal women on cardiac hypertrophy have not been studied. In the present study we examined the effects of high (0.1 and 1 nM) and low (1 and 10 pM) concentration of the synthetic analog of estradiol, 17β-estradiol (E2) on adult cardiomyocytes (CMs). CMs were isolated from adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. The cells were used immediately after isolation to measure pH
i
or cultured to assess hypertrophic phenotype (cell surface area), gene markers (atrial natriuretic peptide, ANP), and protein activation. Low concentration of E2 (1 and 10 pM) increased cell surface area (females: 20%,
P
<0.05; males: 28%,
P
<0.05) and ANP expression (females: 394%,
P
<0.05; males: 497%,
P
<0.05) after 24 h. However, high concentrations (0.1 and 1 nM) of E2 did not induce cell hypertrophy but instead blocked the hypertrophic effect of the α
1
-agonist phenylephrinerophy. The pro-hypertrophic effect of low concentration of E2 was prevented by the sodium-hydrogen exchange isoform 1 (NHE-1) specific inhibitor AVE-4890 (AVE, 5 μM) suggesting involvement of NHE-1 in mediating the E2-induced hypertrophy. Fluorometric measurements with the pH
i
-sensitive dye BCECF demonstrated that a 1 pM E2 increased the pH
i
(females: +0.05 pH units; males +0.12 pH units,
P
<0.05) by a rapid non-genomic mechanism that was blocked by AVE. On the other hand, 1 nM E2 decreased the pH
i
(females: −0.24 pH units,
P
<0.05; males: −0.07 pH units,
P
<0.05) and this effect was also prevented by AVE. The NHE-1-mediated pro-hypertrophic effect of 1 pM E2 was dependent on phosphorylation of ERK1/2 MAPK since the effect was blocked with the ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 (10 μM) and there was no gender difference on ERK1/2 activation. E2 has a dual concentration-dependent role in adult CMs as manifested by a pro-hypertrophic effect at low concentrations (1 and 10 pM), and conversely, an anti-hypertrophic effect at high concentrations (0.1 and 1 nM). The pro-hypertrophic effect of E2 is mediated, at least in part, through ERK1/2/NHE-1 activation.