Chinese expert consensus on exercise blood pressure monitoring and management

Regular exercise is healthy in lifestyle, and is one of the important lifestyle interventions for the treatment and prevention of hypertension. However, there are considerable potential risks associated with exercise. Abnormal blood pressure responses during exercise are not only an independent risk factor for exercise-related acute events, such as sudden cardiac death, but are also closely associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as left ventricular hypertrophy, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. How to implement exercise blood pressure monitoring in patients with hypertension and those at high cardiovascular risk remains an unaddressed issue. This consensus aims to systematically review the current literature and propose a strategy for exercise blood pressure monitoring and management in the Chinese population. It also provides actionable recommendations regarding the equipment, methodology, and key operational procedures for exercise blood pressure monitoring in the clinical setting. It is hoped that this document would help promote exercise blood pressure monitoring in the general population with exercise needs, especially in patients with hypertension and those at high cardiovascular risk, and eventually help for the early identification of exercise-related risks, the optimization of exercise management, and the prevention and control of hypertension.