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Walking
40 minutes a day helps postmenopausal women regain the elasticity
in their arteries that they had before they went through menopause,
according to researchers at the University of Colorado at
Boulder.
As women
age, the large arteries like the aorta and carotid lose their
elasticity by about 50 percent, making it hard for these arteries
to expand and relax with each heartbeat, explained Kerrie
Moreau, research associate in kinesiology and applied physiology
department.
"Increases
in the stiffness of these arteries can contribute to high
blood pressure and enlarging of the heart, both risk factors
for heart disease," she said.
Researchers
looked at 12 postmenopausal women, average age 60, who were
healthy but led a sedentary lifestyle. The women agreed to
walk 40 to 45 minutes daily, five days a week for 12 weeks.
The women were taking hormone replacement therapy, but their
large arteries were still not as elastic as they were before
menopause.
After
adding walking to their daily routine, the elasticity in the
women's arteries increased 48 percent in 12 weeks, giving
them the large arteries of women considerably younger.
"The
findings demonstrate that HRT use and exercise both blunt
the age-related changes in arterial elasticity and that combining
HRT and exercise can restore elasticity to pre-menopausal
levels in a relatively short period," said Moreau.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of May 19, 2002
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