National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) Practice Exam

Upon assessing the blood pressure during an exercise session, the physical therapist assistant determines systolic blood pressure increased. How should the assistant interpret this finding?

1. Hypertensive

2. Hypotensive

3. Abnormal response

4. Normal response

The correct answer is: Normal response

An increase in systolic blood pressure during an exercise session is interpreted as a normal physiological response to physical activity. When a person engages in exercise, the muscles require more oxygen and nutrients, necessitating an increase in cardiac output; this is achieved through an elevation in heart rate and stroke volume, which leads to an increase in systolic blood pressure. This response indicates that the body is efficiently adjusting to the demands of exercise, allowing for increased blood flow to active muscles. It is expected for systolic blood pressure to rise during moderate to vigorous exercise as part of the body's natural homeostatic mechanisms. In contrast, the other interpretations do not apply here. Hypertensive refers to elevated blood pressure levels at rest, which do not pertain to the expected changes during exercise. Hypotensive would indicate low blood pressure, which is not consistent with the observed increase. An abnormal response signifies an unexpected reaction to exercise, which is not the case when systolic blood pressure rises as anticipated. Thus, the finding is interpreted correctly as a normal response.