Abstract
This study determined the reproducibility of post-exercise hypotension (PEH) calculated
by the following methods: PEH_I=post-exercise BP − pre-exercise BP; PEH_II=post-exercise
BP − post-control BP; and PEH_III=[(post-exercise BP − pre-exercise BP)−(post-control
BP − pre-control BP)]. Twenty-five participants underwent four sessions divided in
two blocks (test and retest). Each block consisted of one exercise and one control
session. BP pressure was measured before and after the interventions. The presence
of systematic error (paired t-tests), reliability [intraclass coefficient correlation
(ICC)], and agreement [typical error (TE) and minimal detectable difference (MDD)]
were evaluated. PEHs calculated by the three methods were similar between test and
retest. For systolic PEH, ICC was>0.74, TE ranged from 2.6 to 4.6 mmHg and MDD from
7.2 to 12.8 mmHg for the three methods. For diastolic PEH, ICC was<0.48, TE ranged
from 3.5 to 5.6 mmHg and MDD from 9.8 to 15.4 mmHg for the three methods. Thus, systolic
PEH calculated by the three methods has good/excellent reliability, while diastolic
PEH has fair/poor reliability. Regarding agreement, TE and MDD varied among the methods,
which implies that the specific parameters given for each method should be used to
estimate sample sizes for studies and the minimal individual difference considered
real when comparing PEHs.
Key words
blood pressure - exercise - recovery - measurement error - minimal detectable difference
- test-retest
