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Objective

We investigated the systemic arterial hypertension effects on cardiovascular autonomic modulation and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in women with or without preserved ovarian function.

Methods

A total of 120 women were allocated into two groups: middle-aged premenopausal women (42±3 y old; n= 60) and postmenopausal women (57±4 y old; n= 60). Each group was also divided into two smaller groups (n= 30): normotensive and hypertensive. We evaluated hemodynamic and anthropometric parameters, cardiorespiratory fitness, BRS, heart rate variability (HRV), and blood pressure variability. The effects of hypertension and menopause were assessed using a two-way analysis of variance. Post hoc comparisons were performed using the Student-Newman-Keuls test.

Results

Comparing premenopausal groups, women with systemic arterial hypertension showed lower BRS (9.1±4.4 vs 13.4±4.2 ms/mm …