Exercise‐induced aortic flow parameters in early postmenopausal women and middle‐aged men

Abstract

Objective. Exercise Doppler echocardiography has been recognised as an accurate method for the assessment of left ventricular function in patients with coronary artery disease. Gender differences in aortic flow parameters during exercise have not been well established. The aims of this study were to compare basal ejection Doppler indexes in healthy early postmenopausal women with those of men, and to assess the effects of both isometric and dynamic exercises on these parameters. Design. Intergroup comparison between early postmenopausal women and middle-aged men Subjects. Fifteen healthy women with a mean age of 55 (SD 5) years and 15 healthy men aged 52 (SD 4) were evaluated.Setting. Women were recruited from a menopause clinic and men from a primary cardiovascular prevention program at a cardiac rehabilitation institute. Interventions. Isometric exercise was performed with a 2-hand bar dynamometer, and dynamic exercise with a supine ergometer. Echo Doppler examination was performed at rest and at peak isometric and dynamic exercise with a pulsed Doppler transducer. Results. Both types of exercise resulted in higher values of hemodynamic parameters in the women, with most figures reaching statistical significance. Most aortic flow parameters during rest and exercise were also significantly higher in the women. Conclusions. The unexpected higher values in hemodynamic and aortic flow parameters in early postmenopausal women as compared with middle aged men may shed light on a peculiar aspect of gender differences in cardiovascular function, perhaps specific to this age group and related to menopausal transition.

Aortic valve calcification in hypertensive patients: prevalence, risk factors and association with transvalvular flow velocity

“…Female gender was associated directly with augmented aortic flow velocity in our study. The same data were reported previously [33]. Women have been shown to have proportionally smaller heart and aorta than men and higher cardiac outputs because of the lower oxygen-carrying capacity of their blood (lower hemoglobin levels as well as lower peripheral oxygen extraction).…”

Comparison of abdominal aortic hemodynamics between men and women at rest and during lower limb exercise

“…10 Although biologic factors have been examined to elucidate mechanisms by which atherosclerosis develops more slowly in females, and in some cases less often than in males, hemodynamic differences between men and women have not been well documented. Lev et al 11 compared left ventricular function of postmenopausal women and middle-aged men with Doppler ultrasound scan, although only at rest. Gender differences in abdominal aortic flow and wall shear stress have not been previously reported at all.…”

Hemodynamic Changes During Physiological and Pharmacological Stress Testing in Healthy Subjects, Aortic Stenosis and Aortic Coarctation Patients–A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Compared to dynamic stress testing, pharmacological stress showed lower mean change of HR (21.29 bpm, 95% CI −39.53 to −3.04), lower change of SV (15 ml, 95% CI −28.46 to −1.54; reported in one study) and lower change of CO (5.22 l/min, 95% CI −9.63 to −0.81). Two studies with 3 cohorts reported differences between isometric and dynamic exercise (54, 55). Compared to dynamic exercise, isometric exercise showed lower mean change of HR (35.94 bpm, 95% CI −64.31 to −7.57), higher change of SV (2 ml, 95% CI −53.31 to 57.31), lower change of CO (8.20 l/min, 95% CI −12.85 to −3.55) and higher change of SET (30.56 ms, 95% CI −36.07 to 97.16).…”