Inclusion Criteria:

Healthy Adults

• Healthy women (≥ 18 years of age).
• Participants will be categorized by menopausal status using the STRAW+10 guidelines36:
  • Premenopausal women will be experiencing regular menstrual cycles; 
  • Perimenopausal women will be experiencing irregular cycles (i.e., early perimenopause) or 2-11 mo of amenorrhea (i.e., late perimenopause). Postmenopausal women will have been > 5 years without menstruation and have undergone natural menopause.
• No history of cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurologic, orthopedic, or other diseases affecting the neuromuscular system.
• Undergoing treatment for menopausal symptoms (e.g., hormone replacement therapy).
• Having taken oral contraceptives in the past > 6 months.
• BMI ≤ 35kg/m^2.
• Current non-smokers with smoking history < 15 pack years.
• Able to engage in exercise (i.e., without significant orthopedic limitations or musculoskeletal disorders limiting their ability to exercise).

Patients with Hypertension

• (≥ 18 years).
• No history of dangerous arrhythmias.
• Not pacemaker dependent.
• Undergoing treatment for menopausal symptoms (e.g., hormone replacement therapy).
• Having taken oral contraceptives in the past > 6 months.
• Body mass index ≤ 35 kg/m^2.
• Currently non-smokers with < 15 pack year history.
• Able to exercise (i.e., without significant orthopedic limitations or musculoskeletal disorders limiting their ability to exercise).
• Patients will be tested while receiving optimized standard pharmacologic optimized therapy.
• All patients will be managed by their primary care physician or cardiologist with additional review by Dr. Borlaug (Co-Investigator) prior to enrollment to ensure inclusion and exclusion criteria have been satisfied and participation in exercise testing is safe.

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of dangerous arrhythmias.
• Undergoing treatment for menopausal symptoms (e.g., hormone replacement therapy.
• Having taken oral contraceptives in the past > 6 months.
• Body mass index > 35 kg/m^2.
• Current smokers and/or smoking history > 15 pack years.
• Pregnant women.
• Uremia, history of allergy to iodides.
• Impaired renal function.
• Creatinine value than or equal to 1.3 mg/dL (via clinical record within the past 6 months).
• Diagnosis of liver disease.
• Individuals who are not able to engage in exercise.
• For individuals agreeing to undergo dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning for measurement of body composition as part of their study visit, additional exclusion criteria apply:
• Recently administered gastrointestinal contrast or radionuclides;
• Severe degenerative changes or fracture deformity in measurement areas; or
• Inability to attain correct position and/or remain motionless for the measurement period.