The Effect of Resistance Training Program with Citrulline-Malate on Blood Pressure, Nitric Oxide, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Postmenopausal Women with Prehypertension

Blood pressure generally increases after menopause. Training modalities with a supplement can influence blood pressure indices. The present study aims at investigating the effect of eight-week resistance training with citrulline-malate consumption on blood pressure, Nitric Oxide (NO), and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in postmenopausal women with prehypertension

The sample population is postmenopausal women with pre-hypertensive age ranging from 50 to 55 years old divided randomly into six groups, including “training + supplement”, “training + placebo”, “training”, “no training + supplement”, “supplement” and “placebo”. Resistance training was held 3 sessions per week in which the training intensity was 45% to 55% IRM. The supplement included citrulline-malate (8 g) an hour before each training session. Blood pressure, NO, and VEGE were measured using a barometer and kit before and after the training sessions. Two-way analysis of variance test and Tukey’s follow-up test were applied to analyze data.

The findings demonstrated that training leads to a decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressures while an increase in NO and VEGF. The results showed that an eight-week period of citrulline-malate supplementation has decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Besides, it was revealed that eight weeks of citrulline-malate administration made NO and VEGF increase. Also, the results indicated that the "exercise + supplement" group has had the greatest effect on increasing NO and VEGF and reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Moreover, the findings proved that resistance training with citrulline-malate made systolic and diastolic blood pressures in menopausal women with prehypertension reduce. These effects are accompanied by rising levels of NO and VEGF.

The findings revealed that the resistance training, which was applied in the present study, coupled with citrulline-malate supplementation, will improve blood pressure in postmenopausal women with hypertension.