Cardiovascular demands during exercise are related to arterial blood pressure (BP). However, BP assessment during resistive exercises (RE) can be biased by limitations of measurement techniques. The purpose of this paper was to review the methods of BP assessment during RE, and to suggest ways to minimize differences between indirect and direct methods. Intra-arterial catheterism (IC) is considered the gold-standard for BP assessment. However, its application is unusual and not recommended for healthy individuals, due to enhanced risk of pain, arterial spasm and occlusion, syncope, or blending. The most common indirect methods are the photoplethysmographic (Finapres) and auscultation (AU) techniques. There are few studies comparing these methods during RE. Only one paper was found comparing IC to Finapres, and three comparing IC to AU. In conclusion, despite its precision, IC utilization to assess BP during RE in healthy subjects seems not to be feasible nor ethical. Finapres is considered the best indirect procedure, but it relies on an expensive device which is no longer available, since its production was discontinued. On the other hand, AU can lead to important underestimation of the actual BP values, depending on the exercise characteristics. Some recommendations can be adopted to reduce these differences, such as making the measurement the latest possible before the end of the exercise. The absolute differences between AU and the other methods notwithstanding, it seems that it is adequate to identify trends of BP profile associated to different RE situations.
Exercise; Physiology; Cardiovascular physiology; Strength; Testing
