Evaluation of blood pressures measured at the clinic and during exercise test in children

INTRODUCTION: In pre-participation examinations, an exercise test is required in addition to normal examination in order to evaluate cardiorespiratory functions and ensure safety during exercise if complaints related to effort or risk factors in the patient’s personal and/or family history are observed. This study aimed to examine the blood pressure findings in clinical and exercise tests of children athletes who applied to our outpatient clinic.
METHODS: The histories, physical examinations, blood pressure values, electrocardiography and echocardiography findings, and exercise test data of the patients who applied to our polyclinic between 01.10.2018-30.09.2019 for pre-participation examinations have been evaluated retrospectively.
RESULTS: The study group consisted of 14 females and 36 males whose mean ages were 12.76±2.27 years and mean body mass index was 20.62±3.47. The electrocardiograms were normal. No cardiac dysfunctions were observed in echocardiographies. In exercise tests, the mean endurance time was 9.96±2.12 minutes, the maximum heart rate was 174.4±17.9/min, the maximum systolic blood pressure was 169.34±28.52 mmHg, the maximum diastolic blood pressure was 86.82±20.21 mmHg. The blood pressure of 16% cases were above 200 mmHg.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In our study, exercise-induced hypertension was detected in some cases. The follow-up of these cases is important to determine future cardiovascular risks.