Hemodynamic variables during exercise in childhood and resting systolic blood pressure levels 6 years later in adolescence: the European Youth Heart Study

The aim of this study was to analyze whether systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR) and rate pressure product (RPP) during exercise in childhood can predict resting SBP levels in adolescence independent of resting SBP and conventional cardiovascular risk factors. We studied this in a sample of Danish children followed longitudinally for 6 years. The study comprised 226 children randomly sampled at age 9, who had their blood pressure and HR measured during ergometer exercise to exhaustion and was reassessed in adolescence. SBP and RPP during exercise in stage two of the test were positively associated with future resting SBP, independent of resting SBP in childhood (P = 0.045 and P = 0.013, respectively). After additional adjustment for conventional cardiovascular risk factors the associations with SBP and RPP during stage two on future resting SBP only slightly materially change, although only RPP remained significant (P = 0.059 and P = 0.012, respectively). No significant independent associations were observed for HR during exercise, but associations were in the same direction. Our results supports that measuring SBP and RPP, during a standard acute ergometer exercise test in children, improves the prediction of future SBP levels during rest in adolescence independent of resting SBP and conventional cardiovascular risk factors. Journal of Human Hypertension (2011) 25, 608-614; doi:10.1038/jhh.2010.103; published online 11 November 2010