ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Like other exercise tests, the sustained weight test (SWT) is based on the cardiovascular reactivity to physical exercise. However, the validity, feasibility and reproducibility criteria inherent to this test are not well defined. Our goals were to describe the systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) values which allow a diagnosis of hypertension with this test and to validate the criteria for diagnosis of hypertension. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We designed a transversal study with a sample of 547 people. Hypertensive and normotensive individuals were selected considering 140 mmHg for SAP and/or 90 mmHg for DAP as reference values. Subsequently, the SWT test was applied and values of 140/95 mmHg and 150/100 mmHg were identified to define two normotensive and two hypertensive groups, respectively. Finally, we determined the validity, feasibility and reproducibility of the method. RESULTS: The correlation of DAP and SAP before and after the SWT test was fairly high. Values of sensitivity, specificity, predictive positive value and predictive negative value with the 140/95 mmHg approach were 93.3, 87.9, 71.4 and 97.6%, respectively, while these were 89.6, 95.6, 87 and 96,6% when using the 150/100 mmHg approach, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate a high correlation between the arterial pressure measured by the SWT method and that measured by the international method. Likewise, we have shown an appropriate validity, feasibility and reproducibility of the SWT test for diagnosis of arterial hypertension in the community.
