Abstract
Background--We examined the role of menopause on cardiac dimensions and function and assessed the efficacy of exercise training before and after menopause. Methods and Results--Two groups of healthy premenopausal (n=36, 49.4±0.3 years) and postmenopausal (n=37, 53.5±0.5 years) women with no history of cardiovascular disease and with a mean age difference between groups of only 4 years were studied. Cardiac dimensions and systolic and diastolic function were determined by transthoracic echocardiography with tissue Doppler imaging and 2-dimensional speckle tracking. Measurements were performed at baseline and after a 12-week period of high-intensity aerobic cycle training. LV internal diastolic diameter and LV mass were similar in the 2 groups at baseline and increased by ≈2% to 8% (P=0.04-0.0007) with training in both groups. Left atrial end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes were similar for both groups and increased by 23% to 36% (P=0.0006-0.0001) with training. Systolic function assessed by mean global strain was similar in both groups at baseline and increased by ≈8% (P=0.0004) with training in the postmenopausal group. LV displacement increased by ≈3% (P=0.04) in the premenopausal women only. Diastolic function assessed by E/A ratio was similar at baseline and increased by ≈7% (P=0.01) in the premenopausal group and 11% (P=0.0001) in the postmenopausal group with training. Conclusions--These results suggest that training-induced cardiac adaptations are preserved in the early postmenopausal phase. Furthermore, the hormonal changes associated with the menopausal transition do not appear to affect cardiac dimensions and function.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e005469 |
Journal | American Heart Association. Journal. Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 8 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISSN | 2047-9980 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2017 |
Keywords
- E/A ratio
- Exercise training
- Menopause
- Transthoracic
- Echocardiography
- Women