Assessment of Cardiovascular Functional Capacity and Response to Exercise in Normotensive Offsprings of Hypertensive Parents

Study compared the cardiovascular functional capacity as well as the heart rate (HR) and blood pressure responses to a 6 minute walk test (6MWT) between normotensive offsprings of normotensive parents (NTP) and hypertensive parents (HTP). 60 subjects within the age group of 18 to 25 years were studied. Basal Heart Rate (BHR), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) were noted before the 6MWT. After performing 6MWT, the peak HR, SBP, DBP and the recovery pattern of these parameters and distance covered were recorded. The study revealed that resting DBP was significantly higher in the offspring of hypertensive parents. There was decreased DBP response to exercise in the offspring of the hypertensive parents. However, the cardiovascular functional capacity as measured by the distance covered during the 6MWT did not differ between the two study groups. The study concludes that there is an early trend in higher blood pressure in the offspring of hypertensive parents. Offsprings of hypertensive parents also exhibit an abnormal pattern of HR and BP recovery from the exercise.