ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study exercise hypertensive reaction and its relation with rest blood pressure, hypertension type and hypertensive cardiac disease. DESIGN: Retrospective study of treadmill exercise testes (ET) performed from January/89 to June/91: (n: 1703). SETTING: Stress tests Laboratory of Cardiology Service of a Military Hospital. METHODS: 1363 consecutive ET of male subjects, performing at least the 3rd stage of the Bruce protocol, were studied. From each ET record were obtained general data, including the reason for test, medication and the rest and exercise blood pressure. Exercise hypertensive reaction was defined as a Bruce protocol 3rd stage systolic blood pressure above 187 mmHg, which corresponds to mean +2SD of 130 normal male subjects previously studied. The Echocardiograms of non-treated hypertensives, obtained less than a month from ET, were reviewed. The diagnosis of borderline or moderate hypertension was base on the clinical records. RESULTS: 1) The 1363 ET included 132 (9.7%) ET to study hypertensive subjects, and 68 of these had hypertensive reaction. 86 ET were performed by non-treated hypertensive subjects, of whom 73 had Echocardiogram. 43 (3.5%) from 1231 ET performed by non-hypertensive subjects also had exercise hypertensive reaction. 2) The left ventricular (LV) mass index of non-treated hypertensive patients had a positive correlation with exercise systolic pressure (r: 0.45; p < 0.001), more important than with rest blood pressure or exercise systolic pressure response; there was a relation with LV wall thickness, but not with internal ventricular dimensions, that was only observed in hypertensive subjects that also had hypertensive reaction to exercise. 3) Exercise systolic blood pressure was usually normal in borderline and elevated in moderate hypertensives (Qui2: 27.249; p < 0.001). 4) Subjects with exercise hypertensive reaction, but not previously diagnosed as hypertensives, were usually true hypertensives. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Hypertensive peaks seem to be an important determinant factor in LV hypertrophy of hypertension, but its influence is felt only above a certain blood pressure threshold; it results on LV concentric type hypertrophy. 2) Exercise systolic blood pressure had a discrimination power of about 80% to separate borderline and moderate hypertensive subjects. 3) All subjects having an exercise hypertensive reaction must be carefully observed, even if their blood pressure at rest is normal, because most of them are true hypertensive patients.