Effects of menstrual phase and parental history of hypertension on cardiovascular response to cognitive challenge.

The effects of parental history of hypertension and menstrual phase on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) and heart rate (HR) responses to two frustrating cognitive tasks were examined in 47 normotensive, young adult women. Subjects with and without a parental history of hypertension were scheduled to be tested during either the follicular (days 7-11 of a 28-day cycle) or luteal (days 17-22) phase of the menstrual cycle. During the laboratory session, HR, SBP, DBP, and self-report of affective states were measured while subjects performed two cognitive tasks (mental arithmetic and concept formation). Results indicated that the magnitude of SBP responses to the two tasks was significantly greater in subjects tested during the follicular phase than in subjects tested in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. No effect of parental hypertension was observed on cardiovascular response measures, though offspring of hypertensive parents reported experiencing significantly less anger during the tasks than subjects with normotensive parents.