The Effect of a Structured Combined Exercise Program on Heart Rate Variability and Menopausal Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate whether a structured combined exercise program can improve heart health, menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life in postmenopausal women aged 45 to 65 years. It focuses on measuring heart rate variability as an indicator of nervous system control over the heart, alongside assessing menopausal symptoms and overall quality of life. The study compares women who participate in the exercise program with those who continue their usual daily activities. Participants in the exercise group will undergo a supervised 12-week structured combined exercise program, exercising twice a week for 45 minutes each session. Each session includes warm-up, balance, strengthening, coordination, flexibility, and cool-down exercises tailored to individual functional capacity under physiotherapist supervision. The control group will maintain their usual daily activities without any structured exercise intervention during the study. After the study, control participants will be informed about the exercise program and offered the chance to join. Throughout the study, researchers will assess heart rate variability, menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, quality of life, depressive symptoms, and hot flash frequency and severity at baseline, immediately after the 12-week program, and again 8 weeks later. Hot flashes will be tracked daily during the intervention and follow-up periods. The study involves careful monitoring and statistical analysis of these outcomes to understand the exercise program's effects on postmenopausal women's health.

Structured Combined Exercise Program in Postmenopausal Women: Effects on Heart Rate Variability and Menopausal Symptoms