A network meta-analysis of 38 trials in postmenopausal women found water exercise best improved blood pressure and total cholesterol, combined training improved triglycerides and HDL, and resistance training improved LDL.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,407 participants pooled · 2022PostmenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
A review of 28 randomised trials in postmenopausal women aged 50 to 65 found walking combined with resistance training could preserve weight and bone density and increase muscle strength.
Mixed resultsSystematic review · 2,646 participants pooled · 2004Early postmenopausalCited 219 timesPubMed
A network meta-analysis of 32 RCTs in postmenopausal women found endurance, interval, resistance, and hybrid training improved flow-mediated dilation and pulse wave velocity, measures of vascular function.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,427 participants pooled · 2024PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 26 RCTs in postmenopausal women found aerobic and resistance exercise reduced blood pressure and arterial stiffness, while mind body exercise like tai chi or yoga showed no clear effect.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 729 participants pooled · 2023PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 31 trials in middle-aged women found combined aerobic and resistance exercise reduced waist circumference and blood pressure, while aerobic alone did not reduce body weight and resistance alone had no significant effect.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,202 participants pooled · 2021Midlife womenCited 7 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 41 trials found a single exercise session lowered blood pressure afterward in both pre and postmenopausal women, with resistance and aerobic exercise most effective in postmenopausal women.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 718 participants pooled · 2024Midlife womenCited 7 timesPubMed
A network meta-analysis of 142 trials in postmenopausal women found combined training, aerobic exercise, resistance training and mind-body exercise each improved different metabolic syndrome risk factors.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 7,967 participants pooled · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of six RCTs found aerobic training over 12 to 20 weeks reduced arterial stiffness in women with high blood pressure, while resistance training showed a smaller, borderline effect.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2024Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
A network meta-analysis pooling 79 trials of postmenopausal women found multi-component exercise at a higher weekly dose gave the most consistent reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 3,628 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
A review of 13 studies in postmenopausal women found combined aerobic and resistance exercise, and aerobic exercise alone, improved cardiorespiratory fitness and arterial stiffness, particularly pulse wave velocity.
Direction not statedSystematic review · 700 participants pooled · 2024PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed
A systematic review of 12 RCTs found strength exercises in menopausal women reported improvements in leg and pelvic floor strength, bone density, metabolic and hormonal markers, blood pressure, and hot flashes.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2023Midlife womenCited 24 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 60 studies found resistance training reduced resting heart rate and blood pressure in postmenopausal women, with modest improvements in vascular function and no adverse cardiac structural changes.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2026PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
A systematic review of 51 studies found aerobic, resistance, interval or stretching exercise improved arterial stiffness in healthy young, middle-aged and older women, varying by age and exercise type.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2023Midlife womenCited 20 timesPubMed
Healthy sedentary postmenopausal women did 18 weeks of resistance or aerobic training, and aerobic training reduced arterial wave reflection while resistance training did not change it.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 23 women · 18 weeks · 2007PostmenopausalCited 103 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of low-intensity resistance training with or without diet, and researchers found resistance training combined with diet improved arterial stiffness and muscle strength while preserving lean mass.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 41 women · 12 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 79 timesPubMed
A review of 35 studies found two thirds showed improved endothelial function with exercise training in postmenopausal women, with effects varying by intensity, duration and hormone therapy use.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2022PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed
Women aged 32 to 59 did 12 weeks of moderate resistance training or aerobic training; resistance training did not increase arterial stiffness, while aerobic training reduced it, and neither changed blood pressure.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 35 women · 12 weeks · 2009Midlife womenCited 79 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did 24 weeks of aquatic resistance exercise or elastic band training, both reducing body fat and blood pressure and improving strength and fitness tests similarly.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 46 women · 24 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 69 timesPubMed
In 33 postmenopausal women over 12 weeks, both low-intensity resistance training and whole-body vibration improved blood vessel function and leg strength, while resistance training also improved gait speed.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 33 women · 12 weeks · 2019PostmenopausalCited 42 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women with stage 1 hypertension, 12 weeks of resistance band training raised estradiol and other hormones, lowered systolic blood pressure and body fat, and increased lean mass.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 women · 12 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 41 timesPubMed
Twenty nine postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did 15 weeks of combined walking and resistance training, and the exercise group showed improved fitness, blood pressure, weight, insulin, glucose and cholesterol measures.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 29 women · 15 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 45 timesPubMed
Elderly postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of supervised resistance training versus stretching; the resistance group gained muscular strength and reduced systolic blood pressure by 5 mmHg.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 29 women · 12 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 38 timesPubMed
Early postmenopausal women did periodized high intensity resistance and impact exercise for a year, and spine bone density was maintained versus a significant decline in the non-exercise control group.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 128 women · 52 weeks · 2010Early postmenopausalCited 30 timesPubMed
Hypertensive postmenopausal women did two resistance training protocols and researchers found lighter loads with more repetitions increased sympathetic activity and heart rate more than heavier, lower-repetition training.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 15 women · 2018PostmenopausalCited 32 timesPubMed
In 35 obese postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome, resistance band training improved blood glucose, insulin resistance, lipids, blood pressure, body fat and lean mass compared to no change in controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 35 women · 2021PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women did low-intensity resistance training with slow movement, diet, or both for 12 weeks; resistance training prevented muscle loss seen with diet alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 41 women · 12 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 25 timesPubMed
In 38 dynapenic-obese postmenopausal women over 12 weeks, resistance training improved physical capacity while caloric restriction with or without resistance training improved body composition and metabolic markers.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 38 women · 12 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 26 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome, 8 weeks of resistance training or HIIT reduced weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, with HIIT improving metabolic markers more and resistance training improving muscle mass and strength more.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 45 women · 8 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 19 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 6 weeks of twice-weekly hypertrophic resistance training and showed improved resting heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose, body fat, and muscle strength versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 37 women · 6 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 23 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of resistance training improved blood pressure, estimated peak VO2 and total cholesterol compared with controls, with no change in homocysteine.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 45 women · 12 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Twenty-two postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of progressive resistance training, and researchers found increased strength, reduced waist circumference, cholesterol and blood glucose, with no change in blood pressure.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 22 women · 12 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 25 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome features did 6 months of low-load circuit resistance or aerobic cycling training; both groups reduced body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol with no difference between methods.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 34 women · 24 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 20 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did 16 weeks of resistance training with or without DHA supplementation, with training maintaining bone mineral content, increasing lean mass and strength, and improving glucose tolerance.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 16 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 36 timesPubMed
Overweight or obese middle-aged women did a single resistance exercise session, after which blood pressure was lower than after a rest session, including overnight.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 13 women · 2013Midlife womenCited 25 timesPubMed
In middle-aged hypertensive women, 3 weeks of green tea extract did not change blood pressure or heart rate after resistance exercise but was linked to lower mean arterial pressure during recovery.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 24 women · 3 weeks · 2014Midlife womenCited 15 timesPubMed
Obese menopausal women did 6 months of caloric restriction with or without resistance training; adding resistance training improved muscle strength more in women with low baseline strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 109 women · 26 weeks · 2015Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
Ten hypertensive postmenopausal women did handgrip exercise with dietary nitrate or placebo, and blood pressure during exercise did not differ between conditions, though forearm blood flow was lower with nitrate.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 10 women · 2019PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
In healthy older women, 8 weeks of resistance training combined with fish oil increased handgrip strength and lowered blood pressure and inflammatory markers more than resistance training with placebo.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 women · 8 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 8 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women did five days of isometric handgrip training or quiet sitting; blood pressure fell in both groups with no added benefit from the training.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 18 women · 1 weeks · 2011Midlife womenCited 10 timesPubMed
Twenty-six obese middle-aged women with prehypertension did 6 weeks of resistance plus moderate or high-intensity aerobic training; both groups improved body composition, blood pressure, and fitness, with resistance plus HIIT improving lipids more.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 26 women · 6 weeks · 2025Midlife womenCited 6 timesPubMed
Sedentary overweight or obese postmenopausal women underwent a diet based weight loss program with or without resistance training, and visceral fat measured by two methods decreased similarly after the intervention.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 92 women · 2012PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of functional HIIT or combined aerobic and resistance training; only the combined training group showed a significant drop in systolic blood pressure, and HIIT was not equivalent.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 49 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
In 20 postmenopausal women, two handgrip exercise protocols caused different acute blood pressure and heart rate responses, with peak changes staying below safety guidelines.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 20 women · 2018PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Older postmenopausal women did elastic band resistance training with or without seawater supplement for 32 weeks, and both groups reported lower systolic blood pressure, with inflammation reduced in the seawater group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 93 women · 32 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women performed resistance exercise with different set configurations, and shorter sets with more frequent rest reduced cardiac and baroreflex strain compared to longer sets.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 50 women · 2025PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
In 29 postmenopausal women, a single session of high-intensity interval or isometric resistance exercise lowered blood pressure afterward, with effects varying by exercise type and vasomotor symptom status.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 29 women · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
A 4 week minimal dose resistance training program in 26 menopausal women improved bench press and leg press strength, while cardiac autonomic and hemodynamic measures stayed stable.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 26 women · 4 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 1 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors who did 15 weeks of combined walking and resistance training improved aerobic capacity, resting heart rate, body weight and BMI, with no change in blood pressure.
No difference foundControlled trial · 29 women · 15 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 25 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women, a 15-week resistance training program reduced hot flush frequency for up to 6 months, but the benefit was not maintained at 2-year follow-up.
No difference foundCohort study · 35 women · 104 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
Sedentary women with metabolic syndrome, menopausal or not, did 12 weeks of resistance training and showed no improvement in resting or post exercise blood pressure compared to sedentary controls.
No difference foundControlled trial · 43 women · 12 weeks · 2014Midlife womenCited 7 timesPubMed
Sixteen postmenopausal women tried mat Pilates, aerobic exercise, resistance exercise and a control session, and blood pressure fell after aerobic and resistance exercise but not after Pilates.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 16 women · 2019PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did 16 weeks of whole-body resistance training and showed increased muscle strength, reduced fatigue, improved quality of life, and lower inflammatory markers.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 11 women · 16 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 40 timesPubMed
In 23 untrained and 19 resistance trained middle-aged women, a single resistance exercise session reduced large artery and brain blood vessel function but increased small vessel blood flow responses more in trained women.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 42 women · 2026Midlife womenPubMed
A review of exercise training in hypertensive postmenopausal women reported that aerobic and resistance exercise were linked to improved blood pressure, lipid profiles and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Reported an improvementOther · 2018PostmenopausalCited 56 timesPubMed
This narrative review summarized medical literature finding that regular exercise in midlife and postmenopausal women is linked with reduced obesity, cancer, dementia, mood symptoms, and osteoporosis.
Reported an improvementOther · 2015Midlife womenCited 56 timesPubMed
A review reported that aerobic exercise improves artery stiffness in older men and women but endothelial function improvements seen in men are not consistently found in estrogen-deficient postmenopausal women.
Mixed resultsOther · 2024Midlife womenCited 40 timesPubMed
Among 55 postmenopausal women enrolled in a resistance training program, higher waist circumference and lower education were associated with greater likelihood of hypertension at baseline.
Direction not statedCross-sectional study · 55 women · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
A review reported that regular aerobic and resistance exercise during early postmenopause may improve vascular function via higher nitric oxide and oestradiol levels, though effects are less consistent in oestradiol deficient women.
Mixed resultsOther · 2026Midlife womenCited 10 timesPubMed
A crossover study protocol will compare acute blood pressure and cardiovascular responses of 60 postmenopausal women to resistance training sessions with different set and rest configurations.
Direction not statedOther · 60 women · 2024PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
This protocol describes a planned 12-week resistance training trial comparing set configurations in postmenopausal women, with cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes but no results yet reported.
Direction not statedOther · 40 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed
A protocol describes a crossover and 10 week trial comparing 60% versus 80% 1RM resistance training on blood pressure and heart measures in 20 postmenopausal women with hypertension, with results not yet reported.
Direction not statedOther · 20 women · 10 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed