Reduction in post-menopausal related vascular dysfunction through exercise and Mediterranean diet

Menopause has been associated with reduced physical activity levels, reduced muscle and whole body metabolism, increased caloric
intake and reduced cardio-respiratory exercise tolerance(1), which increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease following
menopause particularly in postmenopausal sedentary women(2). Regular exercise has been linked with a reduction in postmenopausalrelated deterioration in the vasculature, and the benefits included improvement in arterial stiffness and enhanced vascular endothelial
function in post-menopausal women(3). It has been recently shown that age-related deterioration in the microcirculatory endothelial
function may be further reversed through combining exercise training with Mediterranean Diet (MD)(4). Therefore, this study aims to
extend the latter finding by testing whether and how regular aerobic exercise training, combined with MD compliance would increase
microcirculatory vascular activity and cardiorespiratory exercise tolerance in postmenopausal women.