Abstract
Central arterial blood pressure (BP) is more predictive of future cardiovascular events than is brachial BP because it reflects the BP load imposed on the left ventricle with greater accuracy. However, little is known about the effects of exercise training on central hemodynamic response to acute exercise. The purpose of the present study was to determine the influence of an aerobic exercise regimen on the response of aortic BP after a single aerobic exercise in postmenopausal women. Nine healthy postmenopausal women (age: 61 ± 2 years) participated in a 12-week aerobic exercise training regimen. Before and after the training, each subjects performed a single bout of cycling at ventilatory thresholds for 30 min. We evaluated the post-exercise aortic BP response, which was estimated via the general transfer function from applanation tonometry. After the initial pre-training aerobic exercise session, aortic BP did not change significantly: however, aortic pulse pressure and augmentation pressure were significantly attenuated after the single aerobic exercise session following the 12-week training regimen. The present study demonstrated that a regular aerobic exercise training regimen induced the post-exercise reduction of aortic pulse pressure and augmentation pressure. Regular aerobic exercise training may enhance post-exercise reduction in aortic BP.
Highlights
Aging can increase both blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness, both of which are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (Blacher et al, 1999; O’Rourke, 1999)
The present study aimed to determine the effect of aerobic exercise training on the acute central hemodynamic response to the single bout of aerobic exercise in postmenopausal women
The main findings are as follows: First, before the training intervention, aortic and brachial BP did not change significantly following 30 min of cycling at the individual ventilatory threshould (VT) measured before the training regimen
Summary
Aging can increase both blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness, both of which are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (Blacher et al, 1999; O’Rourke, 1999). Central BP, including aortic or carotid pressures, reportedly has a greater influence on cardiovascular disease than dose peripheral BP (Roman et al, 2007). Central aortic pulse pressure can be subdivided into amplitude of the first systolic peak and augmentation pressure. The augmentation pressure is influenced by aging, body height, and arterial stiffness (Nichols and Edwards, 2001; Nichols and O’Rourke, 2005). The increase in arterial stiffness with age accelerates around menopause (Tomiyama et al, 2003). The management of central BP, especially pulse pressure and argumentation pressure, may be of great pathophysiological importance in postmenopausal women
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