Key result
Prolonged high-intensity endurance training in post-menopausal females induced cardiac functional adaptations, including larger LV volume (82.3 vs 67.7 ml), despite no increase in LV muscle mass.
Why the study?
Does prolonged high-intensity endurance training induce cardiac functional and structural adaptations in post-menopausal females?
Cross-Sectional (n=18)
Does prolonged high-intensity endurance training induce cardiac functional and structural adaptations in post-menopausal females?
Prolonged high-intensity endurance training in post-menopausal women induces functional cardiac adaptations such as increased LV volume and improved diastolic function, despite an apparent loss of ability to hypertrophy LV muscle mass.
Supports functional cardiac adaptations from endurance training in post-menopausal females; leaves open causal effects on structure and outcomes.
PURPOSE: Evidence from training studies suggests that post-menopausal women lose the ability to adapt centrally to exercise whilst still improving VO2max. There have been few cross-sectional investigations of the heart of post-menopausal female athletes and thus we have scant knowledge of the upper limit of cardiac adaptation in older females. METHODS: Nine competitively trained post-menopausal athletes (mean± SD age 53 ± 4 years) self-reported high-intensity endurance training for a minimum of 10 years. Nine sedentary controls were recruited for comparison (mean± SD age 56 ± 1 years) and were matched for lean body mass (DEXA). After assessment of resting heart rate (HR) we measured, VO2max via a graded exercise test. Apical 2 and 4-chamber two-dimensional and Doppler scans allowed the estimation of left ventricular (LV) mass, LV volume, stroke volume (S V), ej ection fraction (EF) and the ratio of early (E) to late (A) diastolic filling ratio (E/A) in both the right and LV. Independent t-tests compared groups for all variables and the Alpha level was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Resting HR was significantly lower (51 ± 14 vs. 67 ± 7 beat.min−1) and VOmax significantly higher (23.9 ± 3.0 vs. 40.7 ± 8.0 ml.kg−1. min−1) in the athletes compared to controls. There were no significant differences in LV mass between the trained (142.6 ± 25.0 g) and untrained group (146.7 ± 31.1 g). The trained group demonstrated a significantly larger LV volume (82.3 ± 12.6 vs. 67.7 ± 14.7 ml) and thus SV compared with the untrained group. A comparable EF between groups (controls: 72 ± 2 vs. athletes: 69 ± 5 %) did not contribute to differences in S V. The LV E:A ratio was significantly increased in the athletes (1.53 ± 0.32) compared to the control group (1.12 ± 0.25). Conversely the RV E: A ratio was not significantly different between the athletes (1.39 ± 0.45) and controls (1.27 ± 0.24). CONCLUSIONS: The current data suggests that more prolonged and higher intensity training can induce cardiac functional adaptations in post-menopausal females even though the ability to hypertrophy the LV muscle mass is apparently lost.
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Stephenson et al. (2006) conducted a cross-sectional in Post-menopausal female athletes (n=18). Prolonged and competitive high-intensity endurance training vs. Sedentary controls was evaluated on Cardiac adaptation including LV mass, LV volume, stroke volume, ejection fraction, and E/A ratio. Prolonged high-intensity endurance training in post-menopausal females induced cardiac functional adaptations, including larger LV volume (82.3 vs 67.7 ml), despite no increase in LV muscle mass.
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