The effect of mountaineering on the association between blood pressure and physical activity: A new multi‐sensor ambulatory blood‐pressure monitoring device. The Mount Fuji Study

Abstract

Abstract It has not been fully investigated whether the response of blood pressure (BP) to activity at high altitudes differs from that at low altitudes or how temperature is involved in these differences. The author compared BP response to accelerometer measurements during mountaineering and daily living. In 15 healthy people (mean age 33 ± 6 years), a new multi‐sensor ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) device equipped with barometer, thermometer, and accelerometer was used to measure BP responses to activity during a trip to Mt. Fuji and during daily living. Associations between physical activity (log‐transformed 5‐min average values of accelerometer just before each ambulatory BP) and the corresponding BP were obtained from 843 and 676 readings during the Mt. Fuji trip and daily living, respectively. All ambulatory systolic BP (SBP) parameters were significantly higher during the Mt. Fuji trip than during daily living (all p < .01). There were significant positive correlations between physical activity and corresponding BPs in both mountaineering and daily living (all p < .01), and there was an interaction between BPs and physical activity according to the two conditions (p < .01). On Mt. Fuji, multivariate regression analysis showed increased physical activity and lower temperature were associated with increased 24‐h SBP and diastolic BP (DBP) (all p < .05). The goodness‐of‐fit values of the association between activity and 24‐h SBP or DBP were improved by adding temperature to the model of both 24‐h SBP and DBP. However, these associations were not found in the daily living model. BP response to activity was more pronounced during mountaineering than daily living.

Keywords

• activity
• ambulatory blood pressure
• high altitude