Diagnostic and prognostic value of exercise testing.

Measuring blood pressure during exercise under a standard protocol could be a useful diagnostic method in high-risk patients and in borderline hypertensive subjects. It may also serve as an adapted test for hypertensive subjects undergoing physical activity at work or at leisure time with a particular cardiovascular work load. It can be used as a method of assessment to confirm the efficacy of an antihypertensive drug, and for prognostic evaluation of cardiovascular risk in terms of morbidity and mortality. An exercise blood pressure profile does not provide information about blood pressure during activities of daily living. For this purpose, ambulatory blood pressure measurement appears to be more relevant.