Abstract
Submaximal exercise systolic blood pressure (ExSBP) is a recognised predictor of cardiac mortality. This study examined the possibility that this might be related to increased QT dispersion or prolonged maximum QTc interval (QTcmax). Twenty-nine untreated hypertensive subjects were assessed. Each subject underwent an echocardiographic examination and a 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). ExSBP was measured during a 3-min lightweight submaximal Dundee step test. In multiple regressional analyses, only left ventricular mass index significantly predicted QT dispersion (R2 = 22.4%, P = 0.018) and QTc dispersion (R2 = 25.3%, P = 0.012). However, with respect to QTcmax, ExSBP (R2 = 21.6%, P = 0.02) emerged as the sole significant predictor of this index. Five (17.2%) out of the 29 subjects had prolonged QTcmax ⩾ 430 ms and these subjects were not differentiated by 24-h ABP (146 (s.d. 21)/83 (16) vs 140 (14)/88 (11) mm Hg, P = Ns) but by ExSBP (226 (15) vs 188 (24) mm Hg, P = 0.002). In conclusion, systolic blood pressure measured during exercise correlated with QTc max in hypertension. This finding may partly explain the prognostic value of exercise blood pressure.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Note: This paper has been published in an abstract form following presentation at the 15th Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension in May 2000 in New York. Am J Hypertens 2000; 13: 213A.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lim, P., Rana, B., Struthers, A. et al. Exercise blood pressure correlates with the maximum heart rate corrected QT interval in hypertension. J Hum Hypertens 15, 169–172 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001158
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001158