Do Laboratory Tests of Blood Pressure Reactivity Predict Blood Pressure Changes During Everyday Life

Abstract

This study was undertaken to examine whether bloodpressure reactivity measured in the controlled setting of alaboratory could be correlated with blood pressurechanges occurring during daily life. The subjects were164 untreated hypertensives with mild hypertension, allof whom had a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressurerecording, during which their activities were unrestricted. One hundred thirteen performed a treadmill exercise test, and 51 performed two active coping tasks (playing avideo game or mental arithmetic). Blood pressure wasmonitored at baseline and during the tasks. Significant correlations were observed between theabsolute levels of pressure measured during the laboratorytests and ambulatory monitoring, but these werehigher for the active coping tasks (r = 0.53 to 0.75) thanthe exercise testing (r = 0.26 to 0.46) and were no higherfor pressures measured during the tasks than at baseline. Correlations between the changes of blood pressureduring the laboratory tasks and the changes occurringduring ambulatory monitoring were analyzed in threeways, using simple, multiple, and canonical correlations. In no case were these correlations substantively significant. We conclude that blood pressure reactivity measuredin the laboratory may not be readily generalized tochanges of pressure in everyday life, as measured bynoninvasive ambulatory recorders. Am J Hypertens 1988; 1:168-174.