Why the study?
Does behavioral stress alter hemodynamics differently in normotensive men at high versus low risk for hypertension?
Does behavioral stress alter hemodynamics differently in normotensive men at high versus low risk for hypertension?
Elevated blood pressure in men at high risk for hypertension during rest and mental stress is primarily driven by increased vascular resistance rather than cardiac output.
Resistance mediates BP elevation under stress in high-risk men; leaves open whether this pattern predicts incident hypertension.
Persons at risk for hypertension may show elevated blood pressure (BP) at rest and during mental stress; however, the hemodynamics underlying the BP of those persons at high risk are not well characterized. We chose 21 high risk and 21 low risk men using their parental hypertension history and resting systolic blood pressures on two screenings. Then, on a day of extended rest versus a day with prolonged mental arithmetic and reaction time tasks, we examined whether high risk BP elevations reflected greater vascular resistance or cardiac output. High risk men had raised systolic/diastolic pressures (Fs = 74/15, ps < .0001/.0001) and higher vascular resistance (F = 6.6, p < .02) with minimal differences in heart rate and cardiac output. This finding implicates vascular resistance as the altered element in BP control in these high risk men tested in a familiar environment with minimal task-related threat.
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Lovallo et al. (1998) studied this question.
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