Ambulatory blood pressure and Doppler echocardiographic indexes of borderline hypertensive men presenting an exaggerated blood pressure response during dynamic exercise
Fl. Herkenhoff et al., Ambulatory blood pressure and Doppler echocardiographic indexes of borderline hypertensive men presenting an exaggerated blood pressure response during dynamic exercise, BRAZ J MED, 34(10), 2001, pp. 1285-1293
Citations number
39
Categorie Soggetti
Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Borderline hypertension (BH) has been associated with an exaggerated blood
pressure (BP) response during laboratory stressors. However, the incidence
of target organ damage in this condition and its relation to BP hyperreacti
vity is an unsettled issue. Thus, we assessed the Doppler echocardiographic
profile of a group of BH men (N = 36) according to office BP measurements
with exaggerated BP in the cycloergometric test. A group of normotensive me
n (NT, N = 36) with a normal BP response during the cycloergometric test wa
s used as control. To assess vascular function and reactivity, all subjects
were submitted to the cold pressor test. Before Doppler echocardiography.
the BP profile of all subjects was evaluated by 24-h ambulatory BP monitori
ng. All subjects from the NT group presented normal monitored levels of BP.
In contrast, 19 subjects from the original BH group presented normal monit
ored BP levels and 17 presented elevated monitored BP levels. In the NT gro
up all Doppler echocardiographic indexes were normal. All subjects from the
original BH group presented normal left ventricular mass and geometrical p
attern. However, in the subjects with elevated monitored BP levels, fractio
nal shortening was greater, isovolumetric relaxation time longer, and early
to late flow velocity ratio was reduced in relation to subjects from the o
riginal BH group with normal monitored BP levels (P <0.05). These subjects
also presented an exaggerated BP response during the cold pressor test. The
se results support the notion of an integrated pattern of cardiac and vascu
lar adaptation during the development of hypertension.