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Age- and gender-specific upper limits and reference equations for workload-indexed systolic blood pressure response during bicycle ergometry

Hedman, Kristofer ; Lindow, Thomas LU ; Elmberg, Viktor LU orcid ; Brudin, Lars and Ekström, Magnus LU orcid (2021) In European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 28(12). p.1360-1369
Abstract

Background: Guidelines recommend considering workload in interpretation of the systolic blood pressure (SBP) response to exercise, but reference values are lacking. Design: This was a retrospective, consecutive cohort study. Methods: From 12,976 subjects aged 18–85 years who performed a bicycle ergometer exercise test at one centre in Sweden during the years 2005–2016, we excluded those with prevalent cardiovascular disease, comorbidities, cardiac risk factors or medications. We extracted SBP, heart rate and workload (watt) from ≥ 3 time points from each test. The SBP/watt-slope and the SBP/watt-ratio at peak exercise were calculated. Age- and sex-specific mean values, standard deviations and 90th and 95th percentiles were determined.... (More)

Background: Guidelines recommend considering workload in interpretation of the systolic blood pressure (SBP) response to exercise, but reference values are lacking. Design: This was a retrospective, consecutive cohort study. Methods: From 12,976 subjects aged 18–85 years who performed a bicycle ergometer exercise test at one centre in Sweden during the years 2005–2016, we excluded those with prevalent cardiovascular disease, comorbidities, cardiac risk factors or medications. We extracted SBP, heart rate and workload (watt) from ≥ 3 time points from each test. The SBP/watt-slope and the SBP/watt-ratio at peak exercise were calculated. Age- and sex-specific mean values, standard deviations and 90th and 95th percentiles were determined. Reference equations for workload-indexed and peak SBP were derived using multiple linear regression analysis, including sex, age, workload, SBP at rest and anthropometric variables as predictors. Results: A final sample of 3839 healthy subjects (n = 1620 female) were included. While females had lower mean peak SBP than males (188 ± 24 vs 202 ± 22 mmHg, p < 0.001), workload-indexed SBP measures were markedly higher in females; SBP/watt-slope: 0.52 ± 0.21 versus 0.41 ± 0.15 mmHg/watt (p < 0.001); peak SBP/watt-ratio: 1.35 ± 0.34 versus 0.90 ± 0.21 mmHg/watt (p < 0.001). Age, sex, exercise capacity, resting SBP and height were significant predictors of the workload-indexed SBP parameters and were included in the reference equations. Conclusions: These novel reference values can aid clinicians and exercise physiologists in interpreting the SBP response to exercise and may provide a basis for future research on the prognostic impact of exercise SBP. In females, a markedly higher SBP in relation to workload could imply a greater peripheral vascular resistance during exercise than in males.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Exercise testing, hypertension, reference values
in
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
volume
28
issue
12
pages
1360 - 1369
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:32153202
  • scopus:85081948674
ISSN
2047-4873
DOI
10.1177/2047487320909667
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0cd1984c-2161-4b11-85e1-e51766ccc245
date added to LUP
2020-04-08 14:28:24
date last changed
2024-06-12 11:43:33
@article{0cd1984c-2161-4b11-85e1-e51766ccc245,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Guidelines recommend considering workload in interpretation of the systolic blood pressure (SBP) response to exercise, but reference values are lacking. Design: This was a retrospective, consecutive cohort study. Methods: From 12,976 subjects aged 18–85 years who performed a bicycle ergometer exercise test at one centre in Sweden during the years 2005–2016, we excluded those with prevalent cardiovascular disease, comorbidities, cardiac risk factors or medications. We extracted SBP, heart rate and workload (watt) from ≥ 3 time points from each test. The SBP/watt-slope and the SBP/watt-ratio at peak exercise were calculated. Age- and sex-specific mean values, standard deviations and 90th and 95th percentiles were determined. Reference equations for workload-indexed and peak SBP were derived using multiple linear regression analysis, including sex, age, workload, SBP at rest and anthropometric variables as predictors. Results: A final sample of 3839 healthy subjects (n = 1620 female) were included. While females had lower mean peak SBP than males (188 ± 24 vs 202 ± 22 mmHg, p &lt; 0.001), workload-indexed SBP measures were markedly higher in females; SBP/watt-slope: 0.52 ± 0.21 versus 0.41 ± 0.15 mmHg/watt (p &lt; 0.001); peak SBP/watt-ratio: 1.35 ± 0.34 versus 0.90 ± 0.21 mmHg/watt (p &lt; 0.001). Age, sex, exercise capacity, resting SBP and height were significant predictors of the workload-indexed SBP parameters and were included in the reference equations. Conclusions: These novel reference values can aid clinicians and exercise physiologists in interpreting the SBP response to exercise and may provide a basis for future research on the prognostic impact of exercise SBP. In females, a markedly higher SBP in relation to workload could imply a greater peripheral vascular resistance during exercise than in males.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hedman, Kristofer and Lindow, Thomas and Elmberg, Viktor and Brudin, Lars and Ekström, Magnus}},
  issn         = {{2047-4873}},
  keywords     = {{Exercise testing; hypertension; reference values}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{12}},
  pages        = {{1360--1369}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Preventive Cardiology}},
  title        = {{Age- and gender-specific upper limits and reference equations for workload-indexed systolic blood pressure response during bicycle ergometry}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2047487320909667}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/2047487320909667}},
  volume       = {{28}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}