Guidelines for BP Response During Exercise Need to Be Updated

Existing guidelines used to assess peak blood pressure response during maximal cardiopulmonary exercise, which have not been revised for over 20 years, likely need to be updated, according to a new study.

From September 1, 1986, to February 1, 2015, the researchers assessed data on 2917 maximal treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing responses from apparently healthy men and women without cardiovascular disease (CVD) aged 20 to 79 years.
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Data on each response was submitted to FRIEND (Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise: A National Database). The researchers calculated percentiles of maximal systolic and diastolic BP for each decade.

Results revealed that peak systolic BP increased with age in both men and women until the sixth decade, followed by a plateau between decades 6 and 7.

However, the researchers observed different trajectories of peak diastolic BP with age for men and women. In men, there was an increase in peak systolic  BP until the fifth decade, followed by a plateau by the seventh decade. In women, there was a continued increase in peak diastolic BP for each decade.

“Existing reference data for exercising BP have not been updated for [more than 20 years],” the researchers wrote. “Normative peak exercising BP values from FRIEND can be used to provide a more current representation of maximal BP during exercise testing in the US population.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Sabbahi A, Arena R, Kaminsky LA, Myers J, Phillips SA. Peak blood pressure responses during maximum cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Hypertension. 2018;71(2):229-236. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.10116.