Tipping the scale: Effects of physical activity and body composition on cardiac parameters in postmenopausal females.

The risk of cardiovascular disease increases significantly after menopause. We sought to assess the impact of different activity levels on cardiac structure and function in postmenopausal women. We grouped age-similar, postmenopausal women by self-reported physical activity levels over two decades.

The time is now: regular exercise maintains vascular health in ageing women.

Although ageing impairs cardiovascular health in both men and women, the timeline is different between the sexes. This is at least partially attributed to the loss of oestrogen in women at midlife, in connection with menopause. Oestrogen has protective effects on the cardiovascular system, and menopause consequently leads to a rapid and significant decline in cardiovascular health.

Exercise Training Lowers Arterial Blood Pressure Independently of Pannexin 1 in Men with Essential Hypertension.

Introduction: Regular exercise training reduces arterial blood pressure, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we evaluated the potential involvement of pannexin 1, an ATP releasing channel, in the blood pressure-reducing effect of training.

Methods: Middle-age men, 13 normotensive and 14 nonmedicated stage 1 hypertensive, completed 8 wk of intensive aerobic cycle training.

Is the Pannexin-1 Channel a Mechanism Underlying Hypertension in Humans? a Translational Study of Human Hypertension.

Background: In preclinical models, the pannexin-1 channel has been shown to be involved in blood pressure regulation through an effect on peripheral vascular resistance. Pannexin-1 releases ATP, which can activate constrictive purinergic receptors on the smooth muscle cells. Pannexin-1 opening is proposed to be mediated by α-adrenergic receptors to potentiate sympathetic constriction.

A High Activity Level Is Required for Augmented Muscle Capillarization in Older Women.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the influence of lifelong regular physical activity on skeletal muscle capillarization in women.

Methods: Postmenopausal women, 61±4 yr old, were divided according to self-reported physical activity level over the past 20 yrs: sedentary (SED; n = 14), moderately active (MOD; n = 12), and very active (VERY; n = 15). Leg blood flow (LBF) was determined by ultrasound Doppler, and blood samples were drawn from the femoral artery and vein for calculation of leg oxygen uptake (LVO2) at rest and during one-legged knee extensor exercise.

Hypertension is associated with blunted NO-mediated leg vasodilator responsiveness that is reversed by high-intensity training in postmenopausal women.

The menopausal transition is associated with increased prevalence of hypertension, and in time, postmenopausal women (PMW) will exhibit a cardiovascular disease risk score similar to male counterparts. Hypertension is associated with vascular dysfunction, but whether hypertensive (HYP) PMW have blunted nitric oxide (NO)-mediated leg vasodilator responsiveness and whether this is reversible by high-intensity training (HIT) is unknown. To address these questions, we examined the leg vascular conductance (LVC) in response to femoral infusion of acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and skeletal muscle markers of oxidative stress and NO bioavailability before and after HIT in PMW [12.

Increased prostacyclin formation after high-intensity interval training in late postmenopausal women.

Purpose: Aging impairs vascular function in women, with the largest detrimental effects occurring during the menopausal transition. Deficiency in the nitric oxide system has been suggested to be responsible for impairment in vascular function with aging, but recent observations suggest that the prostacyclin system, acting in redundancy with the nitric oxide system, may be of importance too. Improvement in vascular function is a hallmark of exercise training and we hypothesize that leg vascular function is improved by exercise training in late postmenopausal women, and that the underlying mechanism is increased endothelial formation of prostacyclin and responsiveness to prostacyclin by the vascular smooth muscle cells.

Lifelong Physical Activity Determines Vascular Function in Late Postmenopausal Women.

Introduction: The study evaluated the role of lifelong physical activity for leg vascular function in postmenopausal women (61 ± 1 yr).

Method: The study design was cross-sectional with three different groups based on self-reported physical activity level with regard to intensity and volume over the past decade: inactive (n = 14), moderately active (n = 12), and very active (n = 15). Endothelial-dependent and smooth muscle-dependent leg vascular function were assessed by ultrasound Doppler measurements of the femoral artery during infusion of acetylcholine (Ach), the nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside and the prostacyclin analog epoprostenol.