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The early arterial dysfunction linked with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle heightens the likelihood of suffering from future cardiovascular events. Whole-body vibration training (WBVT) may improve systemic arterial stiffness (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV)) and muscle strength in pre- and post-menopausal women. However, the effectiveness of WBVT to impact the arterial segments included in baPWV is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of WBVT on aortic and leg arterial stiffness in young sedentary overweight/obese women. Thirty-eight young (21 years) overweight/obese women were randomized to WBVT (n=25) or a nonexercising control (CON, n=13) groups for 6 weeks. PWV, brachial and aortic blood pressures (BP), wave reflection (augmentation index (AIx)) and leg muscle strength measurements were acquired before and after 6 weeks. WBVT significantly reduced carotid-femoral PWV (aortic stiffness, P<0.05), femoral-ankle (leg arterial stiffness, P<0.01) and baPWV (systemic arterial stiffness, P<0.01) compared with CON. The reduction in brachial systolic BP (SBP), heart rate, aortic SBP, aortic diastolic BP, AIx normalized to a heart rate of 75 beats per min (AIx@75; P<0.01) and AIx (P<0.05) following WBVT was significant compared with CON (P<0.05). WBVT increased leg muscle strength compared with CON (P<0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between changes in relative muscle strength and aortic stiffness (r=-0.41, P<0.05). WBVT led to reductions in arterial stiffness, central BP and wave reflection in young obese women. WBVT may be an effective intervention toward vascular health promotion and prevention in young overweight/obese women (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02679898).

Growing evidence indicates that strawberries are cardioprotective. We conducted an eight-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel arm clinical trial to investigate the effects of daily consumption of freeze-dried strawberry powder (FDSP) on blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness in pre- and stage 1-hypertensive postmenopausal women. Sixty postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) control, (2) 25 g FDSP and (3) 50 g FDSP (n = 20 per group). Assessments of body weight, BP, arterial stiffness as measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), and collection of blood samples for analyses of vasoactive and antioxidant molecules were performed at baseline, four and eight weeks. After eight weeks, systolic BP, as well as brachial- and femoral-ankle PWV were lower than baseline in the 25 g FDSP group (141 ± 3 to 135 ± 3 mmHg, P = 0.02; 15.5 ± 0.5 to 14.8 ± 0.4 m s, P = 0.03, and 11.0 ± 0.2 to 10.4 ± 0.2 m s, P = 0.02, respectively), whereas no statistically significant changes were observed in the control or 50 g FDSP groups. Plasma nitric oxide metabolite levels increased at four and eight weeks in the 50 g FDSP group compared to baseline (8.5 ± 1.2 to 13.6 ± 1.3 and 13.3 ± 1.5, respectively, P = 0.01), whereas no significant changes were observed in the control or 25 g FDSP groups. Serum levels of superoxide dismutase increased at four weeks returning to baseline levels at eight weeks in all three groups. Significant differences among groups were not detected for any of the parameters. Although BP and arterial stiffness improved in the 25 g FDSP group over time, a treatment effect was not observed. Thus, it would be premature to affirm that daily consumption of FDSP improves BP or vascular function in pre- and stage 1-hypertensive postmenopausal women. This trial was registered at as NCT02099578.