EXAGGERATED BLOOD-PRESSURE RESPONSE AT EXERCISE IN NORMOTENSIVE SUBJECTS - DEMOGRAPHIC AND STRESS PERFORMANCE-CHARACTERISTICS

Background Exercise testing is an important diagnostic and prognostic procedure in the assessment of patients with hypertension. An exaggera ted blood pressure response to exercise among normotensive subjects wa s found to be one of the best predictors of future hypertension. The d emographic characteristics of patients with an exaggerated blood press ure response during exercise have not been adequately described. Metho ds and Results The demographic and stress performance characteristics of 2 groups of normotensive patients referred for exercise testing, on e composed of patients with an exaggerated blood pressure response (gr oup I, n = 146) and a group of patients with a normal blood pressure r esponse (group II, n = 439) were prospectively compared. Patients in g roup I were older than chose in group II (54 +/- 12 vs 51 +/- 13 years , P < .05). More men than women were found in both groups, yet signifi cantly more in group I than in group II (83% vs 69% P < .001 ). Signif icantly more among the patients in group I had a higher level of educa tion and were of Western origin than those in group II (P < .01). The resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher in group I than in group II (131 +/- 18 vs 119 +/- 14 mm Hg, P < .001, and 81 +/- 8 vs 76 +/- 7 mm Hg, P < .001, respectively). The patients in group I achieved a higher percentage of the maximal predicted heart rate (88 +/- 7 vs 85 +/- 9 beats/min, P < .01). No significant differences were found between the groups in the duration of stress test and effort is chemia. Conclusions Patients with a hypertensive blood pressure respon se during stress testing have specific demographic and exercise charac teristics.