INDEPENDENCE OF BLOOD-PRESSURE RESPONSE TO EXERCISE AND AMBULATORY BLOOD-PRESSURE VALUES IN ESSENTIAL-HYPERTENSION

Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) recordings over 24 h are used in the d iagnosis and evaluation of arterial hypertension severity, while blood pressure response to exercise may unmask hypertensive patients. To ev aluate the relationship of the two methods, 40 medication-free patient s with mild and moderate essential hypertension underwent symptom-limi ted treadmill stress test (TST) within 48 h of ABP. TST time, blood pr essure increase, decrease, mode of increase and decrease, were indepen dent of ABP systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) over 24 h, daytime and nighttime (p = NS). SBP fall immediately postexercise w ere independent of ABP data. TST-achieved heart rate was related to bo th 24-hour SBP (r = -0.65, p = 0.00005) and DBP (r = -0.57, p = 0.0002 ) in both day (r = -0.65, p = 0.00001 and r = -0.57, p 0.0002) and nig ht (r = -0.56, p = 0.0002 and r = -0.47, p = 0.003) time periods. Thus , patients with achieved heart rate <100% (n = 15) had higher 24-hour SBP (144 vs. 130 mm Hg, p = 0.0007) and DBP (93 vs. 86 mm Hg, p 0.007) , day and night. It is concluded that there is no overlap of diagnosti c information using blood pressure values in TST or ABP, although achi eved heart rate in exercise is inversely related to hypertension sever ity.