Key result
Parental hypertension links to exaggerated diastolic BP stress responses, while parental MI worsens male systolic responses.
Why the study?
Does parental history of hypertension or myocardial infarction predict exaggerated cardiovascular responses to behavioral stressors in middle-aged men and women?
Observational
Does parental history of hypertension or myocardial infarction predict exaggerated cardiovascular responses to behavioral stressors in middle-aged men and women?
Parental history of hypertension and myocardial infarction is associated with exaggerated acute blood pressure responses to behavioral stress in middle-aged adults.
Does not warrant practice changes; extends prior observations in young men to middle-aged adults of both sexes but remains hypothesis-generating.
The present study had two objectives: to examine the influence of parental history of hypertension on cardiovascular responses during behavioral stress in middle‐aged men and women; and to study the impact of parental history of myocardial infarction on stress responses. Participants were separated into four groups: no parental history of cardiovascular disease; parental history of hypertension only; parental history of myocardial infarction only; or parental history of both hypertension and myocardial infarction. Heart rate and blood pressure were monitored at rest and during serial subtraction, mirror image tracing, and isometric handgrip. Analyses of residualized difference scores showed that like younger, male offspring of hypertensives, middle‐aged men and women with a parental history of hypertension exhibited exaggerated diastolic blood pressure responses during all stressors. Men with a parental history of myocardial infarction, with or without a parental history of hypertension, exhibited exaggerated systolic blood pressure responses during all stressors. These data are the first to show that family history of hypertension influences middle‐aged men's and women's stress responses, and that family history of myocardial infarction influences men's stress responses. Results suggest the importance of parental history of cardiovascular diseases in understanding acute psychophysiological responses of middle‐aged adults.
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Stoney et al. (1988) conducted an observational in Healthy middle-aged adults. Parental history of hypertension and/or myocardial infarction vs. No parental history of cardiovascular disease was evaluated on Cardiovascular responses (heart rate and blood pressure) during behavioral stress. Parental history of hypertension was associated with exaggerated diastolic blood pressure responses to stress in both sexes, while parental history of MI exaggerated systolic responses in men.
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