Absolute and workload-indexed exercise blood pressure responses: associations with cardiac output, vascular resistance, and cardiorespiratory fitness in females

In females, a higher workload-indexed systolic blood pressure (SBP/W)-slope during exercise was associated with greater peripheral vascular resistance, lower cardiac output, and lower cardiorespiratory fitness, irrespective of maximal systolic blood pressure (SBP max ). In contrast, an exaggerated SBP max alone reflected differing contributions of increased flow (i.e., cardiac output) or increased vascular resistance across individuals. Evaluating the SBP/W-slope provides a more physiologically informed interpretation of exercise blood pressure and may improve identification of females with impaired pressure-flow regulation and reduced cardiovascular reserve.