Article

A hypertensive response to exercise is associated with high
cardiovascular risk, whereas scarce data are available about its relation to
surrogates of subclinical atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction and
intima-media thickness (IMT) have been demonstrated in atherosclerotic patients.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between
a hypertensive response to exercise and IMT as well as endothelial function as
surrogates of subclinical atherosclerosis. METHODS:
A total of 52 untreated males
with stage I essential hypertension and a negative treadmill exercise test for
exercise-induced myocardial ischemia were divided into two groups: group I which
included 21 patients with a hypertensive response to exercise (peak exercise
systolic blood pressure >/=210 mm Hg) and group II which included 31 individual
with normal blood pressure response. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and
dilatation ratio (as markers of endothelial function) and measurements of carotid
IMT were done for both groups. RESULTS: Group I patients showed significant
reduction in FMD (5.61 +/- 5.25 vs 10.52 +/- 4.78, p = 0.026) and dilatation
ratio (50.28 +/- 26.03 vs 94.8 +/- 40.06, p < 0.001) compared to group II.
Moreover, Group I patients also showed significant increase in IMT compared to
group II (0.102 +/- 0.033 vs 0.089 +/- 0.03, p = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Hypertensive
response to exercise in patients with untreated stage I essential hypertension is
associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased carotid IMT. It seems that
this phenomenon is not a benign one but rather a dangerous alarm.
CI - (c) The European Society of Cardiology 2015.

Langue : ANGLAIS