Table 1.
Characteristics of the Study Population According to BP Response During Exercise Treadmill Test
| Normal BP Response (n=127) | Blunted BP Response (n=110) | Exaggerated BP Response (n=64) | P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic and clinical data | ||||
| Age, y | 63±12 | 67±13* | 68±10* | 0.004 |
| Men/women | 63/37 | 68/32 | 70/30 | 0.533 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 28.9±13.7 | 27.5±4.5 | 28.2±4.7 | 0.601 |
| Current and ex‐smokers, n (%) | 64 (50.5) | 45 (41) | 35 (54) | 0.239 |
| Clinic systolic BP, mm Hg | 135±16 | 142±18* | 156±19* , † | <0.001 |
| Clinic diastolic BP, mm Hg | 82±12 | 82±12 | 83±15 | 0.712 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 77 (61) | 85 (77) | 54 (84) | 0.001 |
| Antihypertensive treatment, n (%) | 69 (55) | 77 (70) | 47 (73) | 0.039 |
| Coronary artery disease, n (%) | 58 (46) | 52 (47) | 38 (59) | 0.289 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 15 (12) | 19 (17) | 8 (12) | 0.535 |
| Hypercholesterolemia, n (%) | 81 (64) | 70 (64) | 47 (73) | 0.468 |
| Echocardiographic data | ||||
| Left atrium dimension, cm | 3.7±0.6 | 3.8±0.8 | 3.9±0.6 | 0.298 |
| Aortic root diameter, cm | 3.3±0.5 | 3.3±0.5 | 3.3±0.5 | 0.859 |
| Aortic annulus diameter, cm | 2.1±0.2 | 2.1±0.3 | 2.0±0.2 | 0.124 |
| LV end‐diastolic diameter, cm | 4.4±0.6 | 4.6±0.7 | 4.6±0.7 | 0.197 |
| Interventricular septal thickness, cm | 1.3±0.3 | 1.3±0.3 | 1.4±0.3 | 0.157 |
| LV mass index, g/m2.7 | 48.2±14.9 | 51.3±18.1 | 58.7±19.1* | 0.007 |
| LV hypertrophy, n (%) | 61 (48) | 56 (51) | 44 (68) | 0.027 |
| LV ejection fraction, % | 61±6 | 59±8 | 62±6‡ | 0.013 |
| Mean transaortic resistance, dyne s/cm5 | 198±80 | 185±78 | 195±98 | 0.872 |
| Mean aortic gradient, mm Hg | 34±14 | 35±13 | 34±12 | 0.897 |
| Effective orifice area, cm2 | 0.95±0.22 | 0.91±0.22 | 0.95±0.22 | 0.281 |
| Doppler stroke volume index, mL/m2 | 43±14 | 42±14 | 45±10 | 0.533 |
| PP/SVi, mm Hg/mL per m2 | 1.27±0.48 | 1.55±0.52* | 1.71±0.68* | <0.001 |
| SVi/PP, mL/m2 per mm Hg | 0.85±0.28 | 0.75±0.27 | 0.73±0.22 | 0.023 |
| SVi/PP ≤0.6 mL/m2 per mm Hg, n (%) | 12 (10) | 34 (31) | 18 (29) | 0.002 |
| Exercise treadmill testing data | ||||
| Systolic BP before exercise, mm Hg | 133±15 | 144±19 | 153±18* , † | <0.001 |
| Diastolic BP beforeexercise, mm Hg | 84±10 | 85±11 | 87±12 | 0.275 |
| Target heart rate achieved, % | 87±14 | 84±17 | 89±11‡ | 0.026 |
| Peak systolic BP, mm Hg | 165±17 | 147±20* | 202±10* , † | <0.001 |
| Peak diastolic BP, mm Hg | 90±15 | 86±15 | 100±16* , † | <0.001 |
| Peak heart rate, beat/min | 137±26 | 128±26* | 137±19 | 0.010 |
| Exercise duration, min | 10.5±4.5 | 8.9±4.4 | 9.9±3.9 | 0.014 |
| Metabolic equivalents (METs) | 9.3±4.5 | 8.0±4.6 | 8.7±4.4 | 0.064 |
BP indicates blood pressure; LV, left ventricular; PP/SVi, pulse pressure/stroke volume index.
*P<0.01 vs normal BP response.
† P<0.01, ‡ P<0.05 vs blunted BP response.