Diagnostic criteria of the sustained weight test for the detection of hypertensive individuals

BACKGROUND: Like other exercise tests, the sustained weight test (SWT) is b ased on the cardiovascular reactivity to physical exercise, However, the va lidity, feasibility and reproducibility criteria inherent to this test are not well defined. Our goals were to describe the systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) values which allow a diagnosis of hypertension with this test and to validate the criteria for diagnosis of hypertension. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We designed a transversal study with a sample of 547 p eople. Hypertensive and normotensive individuals were selected considering 140 mmHg for SAP and/or 90 mmHg for DAP as reference values. Subsequently, the SWT test was applied and values of 140/95 mmHg and 150/100 mmHg were id entified to define two normotensive and two hypertensive groups, respective ly, Finally, we determined the validity, feasibility and reproducibility of the method. RESULTS: The correlation of DAP and SAP before and after the SWT test was f airly high. Values of sensitivity, specificity, predictive positive value a nd predictive negative value with the 140/95 mmHg approach were 93.3, 87.9, 71.4 and 97.6%, respectively, while these were 89.6, 95.6, 87 and 96.6% wh en using the 150/100 mmHg approach, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate a high correlation betwe en the arterial pressure measured by the SWT method and that measured by th e international method. Likewise, we have shown an appropriate validity, fe asibility and reproducibility of the SWT test for diagnosis of arterial hyp ertension in the community.