Blood pressure response to graded bicycle exercise in males and females across the age and fitness spectrum
Files
(Published version)
Date
2025
Authors
Janssens, K.
Foulkes, S.J.
Mitchell, A.M.
Dausin, C.
Van Soest, S.
Spencer, L.
Rowe, S.J.
D'Ambrosio, P.
Elliott, A.D.
Van Puyvelde, T.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (EJPC), 2025; 32(1):43-51
Statement of Responsibility
Kristel Janssens, Stephen J. Foulkes, Amy M. Mitchell, Christophe Dausin, Sofie Van Soest, Luke Spencer, Stephanie J. Rowe, Paolo D'Ambrosio, Adrian D. Elliott, Tim Van Puyvelde, Evelyn B. Parr, Rik Willems, Hein Heidbuchel, Guido Claessen, and Andre La Gerche
Conference Name
Abstract
Aims: Blood pressure (BP) responses to exercise are frequently measured, with the concern that greater increases are a marker of disease. We sought to characterize the normal exercise BP response in healthy adults and its relationships with age, sex, and fitness. Methods and results: Five hundred and eighty-nine participants [median age 46 (interquartile range 24–56) years, 81% male] underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing with repeated, automated BP measures. An exaggerated maximal systolic BP (SBPmax) was defined from current guidelines as ≥210 mmHg in males and ≥190 mmHg in females. Individual linear regression analyses defined the relationship between BP and workload (W; SBP/W-slope and DBP/W-slope). Participants with or without an exaggerated SBPmax and above- or below-median SBP/W-slope were compared. An exaggerated SBPmax was found in 51% of males and 64% of females and was more prevalent in endurance-trained athletes (males 58%, females 72%, P < 0.001). The mean SBP/W-slope was lower in males (0.24 ± 0.10 mmHg/W) than females (0.27 ± 0.12 mmHg/W, P = 0.031). In both sexes, peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) was inversely correlated with SBP/W-slope (P < 0.01). Those with an exaggerated SBPmax and below-median SBP/W-slope were 10 years younger and had a 20% higher VO2peak, on average (P < 0.001). A non-exaggerated SBPmax and above-median SBP/W-slope was observed in older individuals with the lowest VO2peak. Conclusion: In a large cohort of healthy individuals, an exaggerated SBPmax was common and associated with higher fitness. In contrast, higher SBP indexed to W was associated with older age, lower fitness, and female sex. Thus, sex, age, and fitness should be considered when evaluating BP response to exercise.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Online publish-ahead-of-print 8 August 2024
Access Status
Rights
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.