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1 Department of Kinesiology and 2 Divisions of Cardiology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309
Received 28 June 1995; accepted in final form 23 September 1996.
Stevenson, Edith T., Kevin P. Davy, Pamela P. Jones,
Christopher A. Desouza, and Douglas R. Seals. Blood pressure risk factors in healthy postmenopausal women: physical activity and hormone
replacement. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(2):
652-660, 1997.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
increases with advancing age in women, particularly after menopause.
CVD risk is lower in physically active women relative to their
sedentary peers, but the responsible mechanisms are not well
understood. The aims of this study were to test the hypotheses that
1) physically active postmenopausal
women demonstrate more favorable blood pressure (BP)-related risk
factors for CVD than do sedentary healthy women and
2) women on hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) also have more favorable levels of these CVD risk
factors. BP-related CVD risk factors were measured in physically active
women (n = 18; age 55 ± 1 yr;
n = 8 on HRT) and in healthy
less-active controls (n = 34; age 59 ± 1 yr; n = 17 on HRT). Maximal
oxygen consumption was higher in the active group, whereas waist-to-hip
ratio and waist circumference were lower (all
P < 0.005). The active
women demonstrated marginally lower (5-8 mmHg;
P 
0.10) levels of casual, 24-h, and
daytime systolic BP (SBP). They also tended to have lower
(P = 0.11) daytime SBP loads
(percentage of BP recordings >140/90 mmHg) and lower daytime and
nighttime BP variabilities (P = 0.04)
and a reduced (P < 0.007) SBP
response to submaximal exercise. Women on HRT tended to have lower
(3-4 mmHg; P = 0.07) levels of
24-h and nighttime diastolic BP (DBP) relative to the nonusers and
smaller (P < 0.04) daytime and 24-h
DBP loads. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that waist
circumference was the primary predictor of most of the SBP-related CVD
risk factors while HRT use was the best predictor for DBP loads. These
findings indicate that, in general, physically active postmenopausal
women demonstrate more favorable SBP-related CVD risk factors relative to their less-active healthy peers, which may be mediated, in part, by
their lower levels of abdominal adiposity. In addition, HRT use tends
to be associated with lower levels of DBP-related CVD risk factors.
body fat distribution; exercise; aging; hormone replacement therapy
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