Influence of Age and Estradiol on Sympathetic Nerve Activity Responses to Exercise in Women

Introduction Postmenopausal women (PMW) display exaggerated increases in blood pressure (BP) during exercise, yet the mechanism(s) involved remain unclear. Moreover, research on the impact of menopausal changes in estradiol on cardiovascular control during exercise are limited. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that sympathetic responses during exercise are augmented in PMWcompared with young women (YW), and estradiol administration attenuates these responses. Methods Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured in 13 PMW (58 ± 1 yr) and 17 YW (22 ± 1 yr) during 2 min of isometric handgrip. Separately, MSNA and BP responses were measured during isometric handgrip in six PMW (53 ± 1 yr) before and after 1 month of transdermal estradiol (100 μg·d−1). A period of postexercise ischemia (PEI) to isolate muscle metaboreflex activation followed all handgrip bouts. Results Resting MAP was similar between PMW and YW, whereas MSNA was greater in PMW (23 ± 3 vs 8 ± 1 bursts per minute; P
Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: BASIC SCIENCES Source Type: research