OBJECTIVE: To analyse the influence of a physical exercise programme of strength/stamina on cardiovascular risk factors in low-risk post-menopausal women. DESIGN: Six-month randomised clinical trial with post-menopausal women. SETTING: Three health centres in the autonomous community of Murcia, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-three post-menopausal women aged 45 to 59 at low cardiovascular risk. INTERVENTIONS AND MAIN MEASUREMENTS: They were split into 2 groups: (a) control: 23 people with no specific intervention, and (b) 40 people with an intervention of strength/stamina exercise with protocol for in water and on land. At their initial and final visits, everyone in the 2 groups had anamnesis, physical examination, and general analyses, including Apo A, Apo B, insulin, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, creatinine in urine, albuminuria, ultrasensitive PCR, and HOMA index. RESULTS: The insulin levels increased in the control group by 2.02 mU/L and dropped in the experimental group by 0.13 mU/L (p = 0.021). At the start of the study, creatinine in the control group was 0.83 +/- 0.12 mg/dL; and at the end, 0.91 +/- 0.02 mg/dL. In the intervention group it was 0.84 +/- 0.12 mg/dL at the start and 0.90 +/- 0.13 mg/dL at the end (NS). Systolic blood pressure dropped in both groups, with a bigger drop in the exercise group (11.81 versus 0.17 mmHg) (p = 0.0001). HDL-C values increased in the control group by 4.97 mg/dL; and in the experimental group, by 3.46 mg/dL (NS). CONCLUSIONS: A controlled programme of strength/stamina physical exercise reduces the cardiovascular risk of post-menopausal women.

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