Higher blood pressure during workout and delayed blood pressure recovery after exercise are associated with a higher risk of hypertension, preclinical and clinical heart disease and death among middle-aged to older adults. Blood pressure responses to exercise are important markers of cardiovascular disease and mortality risk in young to middle-aged adults. However, few studies have examined the connection of midlife blood pressure responses to submaximal (less than the maximum of which an individual is capable) exercise with the risk of cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in later life.
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) evaluated the association of blood pressure changes and recovery with indicators of preclinical disease among participants from the Framingham Heart Study (average age 58 years, 53 percent women). They then followed these participants to assess whether these blood pressure changes were associated with the risk of developing hypertension, cardiovascular disease or dying.
