title: A comparison of the indirect estimate of mean arterial pressure calculated by the conventional equation and calculated to compensate for a change in heart rate.
abstract: The standard equation used to calculate mean arterial pressure (MAP) assumes that diastole persists for 2/3 and systole for 1/3 of each cardiac cycle. This ratio is altered when heart rate increases, and therefore we investigated the efficacy of predicting MAP during exercise using non-invasive indirect methods. Eight subjects exercised on a cycle ergometer for 3 minute intervals to elicit heart rates between 100-110, 120-130, 140-150, 160-170, and 180-190 beats/min. In the last minute of each 3 min interval an ECG recording was taken and systolic (SP) and diastolic (DP) blood pressure was measured by manual auscultation. MAP was calculated for each heart rate interval by: MAP=DP+1/3(SP-DP) (method A), and MAP= DP + Fs(SP- DP) (method B), where Fs is the fraction of the cardiac cycle comprising systole, measured from the ECG. Fs increased from 0.35+/-0.049 at rest to 0.47+/-0.039 at a heart rate of 180-190 beats/min. MAP measured by method B was consistently greater than MAP calculated by method A at all heart rates greater than resting heart rate (p<0.01). The error incurred when using the standard MAP equation (method A) to derive MAP during exercise (measured as the percentage difference between method A and B) increased linearly with heart rate (r=0.98). The standard MAP equation should not be applied during exercise, as it does not account for the change in the systolic: diastolic period ratio as heart rate increases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Witwatersrand, Medical School, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oosthuyse
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013599:Systole