Exaggerated hypertensive response to exercise and myocardial ischemia in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease

Abstract

ObjectivesThe association between an exaggerated hypertensive response to exercise (EHRE) and the probability of ischemia in stress tests is controversial. Our purpose was to determine the possible association between an EHRE and the development of chest pain and electrocardiographic or echocardiographic ischemia with exercise. Patients and methodsA retrospective observational study was conducted of 10,047 patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease referred for exercise echocardiography. A logistic regression analysis assessed the effect of developing an EHRE (defined as a maximum systolic blood pressure with exercise ≥220mmHg) and the onset of chest pain and electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes suggestive of ischemia. ResultsA total of 402 patients developed an EHRE. The rates of angina, electrocardiographic ischemia and echocardiographic ischemia among the patients with an EHRE were 8.2, 16.2 and 22.6% versus 13.8, 14.7 and 27.5%, respectively, for patients without an EHRE (p=.001, p=.4, p=.032). After a multivariate fit, EHRE was associated with a lower probability of exercise-induced angina (OR, 0.44; 95% CI 0.30–0.65; p<.001) and echocardiographic ischemia (OR, 0.63; 95% CI 0.48–0.83; p=.001) but not with the onset of electrocardiographic ischemia. ConclusionsEHRE is associated with a lower prevalence of angina and echocardiographic ischemia in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.