Use of graded exercise testing in assessing the hypertensive patient

Summary: Twenty-five patients with suspected hypertension were studied using the “Oxford” continuous intra-arterial blood pressure recording technique. Each patient carried out graded exercise on a bicycle ergometer, using a standard protocol, and then underwent a fully ambulatory 24-h out- patient blood pressure recording. Using computer analysis, ambulatory blood pressure in each patient was characterised by measuring the mean daytime systolic and diastolic pres- sures. Exercise was found to be associated with a character- istic increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Sub- maximal and maximal exercise blood pressures were shown to correlate strongly with ambulatory blood pressure. A much weaker correlation was found between clinic and ambulatory blood pressure. These findings suggest that the blood pressure response to exercise may be a better indicator of elevated blood pressure than a casual clinic blood pressure in indi- vidual borderline subjects. Key words: blood pressure, exercise test, bicycle ergometer, ambulatory recording