A summary of research published in European Respiratory Journal Open Research.
Significant rises in blood pressure in the lungs during exercise could be a sign of exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension and may limit the amount of exercise a person can safely do. Monitoring the changes in blood pressure during exercise could give clues as to which patients are at risk of complications.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a condition where the blood pressure in the lungs becomes too high, making it harder for the heart to pump blood through the lungs. This can cause symptoms like shortness of breath, extreme tiredness and dizziness. Doctors often measure pressure in vessels carrying blood in the lungs when patients are resting, but monitoring this pressure during exercise may provide additional insights.
A recent study examined blood pressure in the lungs during exercise. Researchers asked whether this could give doctors more information about a patient’s risk of serious health problems or death, even for people with normal blood pressure in the lungs when resting.
The study used data from 764 patients across 23 hospitals worldwide. Participants took a test that measures blood pressure in the lungs and heart function, known as right heart catheterisation, at rest and during exercise. The researchers looked at how blood pressure in the lungs increases during exercise and how this relates to the heart’s ability to pump blood. They wanted to know if this change could help predict a patient’s risk of worsening health, even for those with normal, or only slightly raised blood pressure, in the lungs when a person is resting.
The study found that the way blood pressure in the lungs increases during exercise could help to predict long-term health. The changes seen during exercise can provide a better understanding of a patient’s health, beyond the measurements taken when a person is resting.
The study also shows that the relationship between lung blood pressure and exercise is complex. In healthy people, blood pressure in the lungs rises during exercise to adjust to the increased blood flow needed to supply oxygen to the body. However, a significant rise in pressure—known as exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension (exercise PH)—is abnormal and may suggest a person is limited in the amount of exercise they can safely do. This highlights the importance of monitoring blood pressure in the lungs during physical activity.
This research shows that exercise can reveal hidden risks in patients, even when their blood pressure in the lungs appears normal when they are resting. By measuring how blood pressure in the lungs changes during exercise, doctors may be able to spot which patients are at a higher risk for serious complications and change their care to help with this. This could lead to earlier treatment and more personalised care plans.
Future research with more patients from different backgrounds will help confirm these findings and better understand how different types of heart and lungs problems affect blood pressure in the lungs during exercise.
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