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. 2022 Aug 19;11(16):4870. doi: 10.3390/jcm11164870

Table 5.

Patient characteristics of the 639 examined athletes with spiroergometry and without known arterial hypertension stratified for exaggerated blood pressure response according to systolic blood pressure/MET slope.

Parameters Normal Blood Pressure Response According to Systolic Blood Pressure/MET Slope (≤6.2 mmHg/MET) (n = 386; 60.4%) Exaggerated Blood Pressure Response According to Systolic Blood Pressure/MET Slope (>6.2 mmHg/MET) (n = 253; 39.6%) p-Value
Age (in years) 18.0 (15.0/22.0) 24.0 (18.0/36.5) <0.001
Female sex 139 (36.0%) 80 (31.6%) 0.253
Body height (cm) 175.0 (168.0/182.0) 178.0 (170.0/184.0) 0.014
Body weight (kg) 66.8 (58.0/77.7) 76.0 (66.0/85.9) <0.001
Body mass index (kg/m2) 21.7 (20.2/24.0) 23.8 (22.3/26.0) <0.001
Body fat (%) 12.4 (8.2/16.6) 12.2 (9.2/17.1) 0.003
Leading athletes at a regional or national level 295 (76.4%) 135 (53.4%) <0.001
Training years 7.0 (5.0/10.0) 10.0 (5.0/14.0) <0.001
Cardiovascular risk factors
Nicotine abuse 8 (2.1%) 18 (7.1%) 0.003
Obesity 1 (0.3%) 9 (3.6%) 0.001
Blood pressure values
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) 120.0 (110.0/125.0) 120.0 (110.0/125.0) 0.908
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) 70.0 (60.0/75.0) 70.0 (65.0/80.0) 0.003
Maximum systolic blood pressure during exercise (mmHg) 170.0 (155.0/180.0) 210.0 (190.0/220.0) <0.001
Maximum diastolic blood pressure during exercise (mmHg) 70.0 (65.0/80.0) 80.0 (70.0/80.0) <0.001
Exercise parameters
VO2 maximum during exercise 47.5 (42.1/51.5) 41.9 (36.2/47.0) <0.001
Respiratory exchange
ratio (RER)
1.15 (1.10/1.19) 1.15 (1.11/1.21) 0.037
Maximum lactate value 9.36 (7.67/11.24) 9.51 (7.89/11.24) 0.533
Echocardiographic parameters
Left ventricular hypertrophy 64 (16.6%) 75 (29.6%) <0.001
Left ventricular mass 163.6 (132.3/199.3) 188.1 (153.4/220.6) <0.001
Aortic valve regurgitation 20 (5.2%) 22 (8.7%) 0.080
Mitral valve regurgitation 203 (52.6%) 169 (66.8%) <0.001
Tricuspid valve regurgitation 46 (12.0%) 51 (20.2%) 0.010
Pulmonary valve regurgitation 34 (8.8%) 25 (9.9%) 0.647
Heart volume in total (mL) 772.0 (639.0/908.5) 896.4 (732.9/1000.0) <0.001
Heart volume related to body weight (mL/kg) 11.4 (10.2/12.4) 11.4 (10.2/12.3) 0.803
Left ventricular ejection fraction (%) 65.0 (62.0/69.0) 66.0 (63.0/69.0) 0.041
Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (cm) 50.0 (46.0/53.0) 51.0 (47.0/54.0) <0.001
Left atrial area (cm2) 13.5 (11.0/15.3) 14.9 (12.6/17.4) <0.001
Right atrial area (cm2) 13.3 (11.1/15.5) 14.9 (12.8/17.9) <0.001
Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE, cm) 2.40 (2.20/2.70) 2.60 (2.40/2.90) <0.001
Systolic pulmonary artery pulmonary pressure (mmHg) 20.0 (16.5/23.0) 21.5 (18.0/24.0) 0.002
E/A quotient 2.5 (1.9/3.4) 2.4 (1.6/3.6) 0.111
E/E’ quotient 4.7 (4.0/5.7) 4.9 (4.1/5.9) 0.193