Research Center: University of Maryland, College Park
Location: College Park, MD 20742, United States
Lead Researcher: Emily Blake, MPH
IRB: This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Curious about how menopause, inflammation, and hormonal changes shape your heart health? These natural processes hold incredible power over your cardiovascular well-being. Understanding the impact of inflammation and hormonal shifts during menopause becomes key to maintaining an optimal heart.

This research study aims to uncover how inflammation and cardiovascular well-being are connected throughout a woman’s life. It also aims to emphasize the importance of the perimenopausal transition, highlighting the need for healthy lifestyle interventions and healthcare treatments during this phase. By doing this, researchers hope to decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases in women after menopause, which will have a positive impact on society in the long run.

• Participants will be compensated up to $95 for participating in this study. 
• Participants may gain a better understanding of how inflammation affects the responses of their arteries, specifically in relation to their hormone status. 
• Participants will provide valuable information that could benefit individuals with existing cardiovascular conditions or those at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases in the future.
• Participants will be helping to advance medical research on cardiovascular diseases.

• If you decide to participate in the study and later feel that you no longer wish to be part of it, you can withdraw at any time.
• Any information that you provide will be kept strictly confidential, except as required by law.
• Qualified health professionals will monitor your health as it relates to the study.

• Women aged 36-60 who are NOT lactose intolerant
• Must not have a history of cancers, heart, lung, and metabolic disease 
• Must not be diabetic
• Must not be using medications for treating menopause symptoms
• Must be able to attend 2 study visits at the research site that will last approximately 1.5 and 3.5 hours, respectively

The study team will explain the research in its entirety, but some details are:

• Participants will be completing health questionnaires, completing an aerobic exercise test, consuming a chocolate milkshake, and having pre- and post-meal blood draws and measures of the arteries.
• Participants will be completing body measurements including height, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan (DEXA).
• Participants will be asked to wear a 24-hour blood pressure monitor for 1-2 days.

The University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park, seeks to provide excellent teaching, research, and service. The university educates students and advances knowledge in areas of importance to the state, the nation, and the world. The University is committed to being a preeminent national center for research and graduate education and the institution of choice for Maryland’s undergraduates of exceptional ability and promise.

Please note:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers would like to assure the participants that ensuring their and the study staff’s safety is of utmost importance.