The effect of interval sprinting exercise on vascular function and aerobic fitness of post‐menopausal women

Menopausal transition accelerates an age‐associated decrease in vascular function and a decline in aerobic fitness. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of 8 weeks of interval sprinting cycle ergometer exercise on arterial stiffness, basal forearm blood flow, and aerobic fitness of po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports 2020-02, Vol.30 (2), p.312-321
Main Authors: Ho, Tze Y., Redmayne, Georgia P., Tran, Aengus, Liu, Diana, Butlin, Mark, Avolio, Alberto, Boutcher, Stephen H., Boutcher, Yati N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aerobic fitness
arterial stiffness
Cardiorespiratory Fitness
Exercise
Female
Forearm - blood supply
Hemodynamics
High-Intensity Interval Training
Hormone replacement therapy
Humans
interval sprinting exercise
limb blood flow
Middle Aged
Overweight
overweight women
Physical fitness
Postmenopause
Pulse Wave Analysis
vascular dysfunction
Vascular Stiffness
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Summary:Menopausal transition accelerates an age‐associated decrease in vascular function and a decline in aerobic fitness. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of 8 weeks of interval sprinting cycle ergometer exercise on arterial stiffness, basal forearm blood flow, and aerobic fitness of post‐menopausal women. Sixty overweight post‐menopausal women were randomized into either exercise (Ex, n = 30) or control (C, n = 30) groups. Ex participants completed 24 interval sprinting exercise (ISE) sessions over 8 weeks. Each 20‐minute ISE session comprised of alternating 8 seconds sprints and 12 seconds of light pedaling. Arterial stiffness assessed through ankle‐brachial pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and augmentation index (AIx), basal forearm blood flow (FBF) assessed using venous occlusion, and aerobic fitness were assessed before and after the intervention. baPWV was significantly decreased in the Ex group by 7.2%, P = .03, whereas AIx demonstrated a 10% decrease, P = .002. No changes were found in basal FBF. Aerobic fitness was significantly increased, P = .002, in the Ex group (14%) with no change occurring in the control group.ISE training, despite minimal exercise commitment time (8 hours over 8 weeks), significantly lowered the arterial stiffness and increased the aerobic fitness of post‐menopausal women. These results suggest that ISE positively influences the negative change in arterial stiffness and aerobic fitness that typically accompanies menopause.
ISSN:0905-7188
1600-0838
DOI:10.1111/sms.13574