Anticipatory Blood Pressure Response to Exercise Predicts Future High Blood Pressure in Middle-aged Men

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Abstract
Increases in blood pressure during the period of emotional arousal attendant to impending exertion are well documented, yet the etiologic significance of these elevations is unknown. Research suggests that exaggerated cardiovascular responses to psychological stress may be importantly related to hypertension. We examined blood pressure reactivity in anticipation of an exercise stress test in relation to future hypertension in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, a population-based study of middle-aged men from Eastern Finland. Subjects were 508 unmedicated men with resting blood pressure less than 165/95 mm Hg who completed a bicycle ergometer stress test at baseline and whose hypertensive status was assessed at 4 years of follow-up. Systolic and diastolic reactivity were calculated as the difference between blood pressure measured after seated rest on the bicycle ergometer before initiation of exercise and mean seated resting blood pressure measured 1 week earlier. Logistic regre...