Efficacy of interval exercise training to improve vascular health in sedentary postmenopausal females

FIGURE 1. Individual participant (•) and mean data (gray bars) for relative V̇O2peak which was unchanged following 12 weeks of MODERATE‐IT (n = 12; T‐test p = 0.59) but showed an increase * following HEAVY‐IT (n = 13; time effect p = 0.088; group effect p = 0.604; time x group effect p = 0.017; T‐test p = 0.02). Data presented as geometric mean ± 95% CI.

FIGURE 2. Individual participant (•) and mean data (gray bars) for carotid radial pulse wave velocity which decreased over the course of the 12‐week exercise intervention, irrespective of exercise group (MODERATE‐IT n = 10; HEAVY‐IT n = 13; time effect p = 0.018 *; group effect p = 0.042; time x group interaction p = 0.505).

FIGURE 3. The time course of CAC adhesion to vascular smooth muscle cells pre (closed symbols) and post (open symbols) the 12‐week exercise intervention in the MODERATE‐IT (square) and HEAVY‐IT (circle) groups. Adhesion of CACs to VSMC increased over 24 h of the adhesion protocol in both groups pre‐training and post‐training (time effect p = 0.083; group effect p = 0.372; time course p = 0.001). There was no change in adhesion from pre‐training to post‐training in the HEAVY‐IT group at any time point (n = 7; T‐Test p > 0.05), however adhesion was increased at 30 min post training in the MODERATE‐IT group (n = 6) compared to pre‐training (T‐Test p = 0.06).

FIGURE 4. (a) There was no difference in relative FMD (%) from pre to post 12 weeks of exercise training in the MODERATE‐IT and HEAVY‐IT groups (time x exercise group p > 0.05). (b) Pre‐training, relative FMD was determined to be impaired (<4.5%) or normal (>4.5%) across both exercise groups, as per Rossi et al. (Rossi et al., 2008). FMD increased from pre‐training to post‐training, irrespective of exercise group, in participants with impaired FMD (T‐test p < 0.05), but decreased with training in participants who started the study with normal FMD (T‐test p < 0.05; Time x FMD group p < 0.05). (c) Impaired FMD prior to exercise training is a greater determinant of whether FMD improved following exercise training compared to the intensity of exercise training prescribed which appeared to have no effect (time × FMD group × exercise p > 0.05).