Heart rate reactivity to laboratory stressors showed the greatest reproducibility (r = 0.555), followed by systolic (r = 0.407) and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.348).
Meta-Analysis
What is the reproducibility of blood pressure and heart rate reactivity to laboratory stressors?
The drop in stress reproducibility as test-retest interval increases places limits on the viability of BP reactivity as a strong marker or risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Effect estimate: r = 0.555 for HR, 0.407 for SBP, 0.348 for DBP
Reproducibilities of blood pressure and heart rate (HR) reactivity reported in studies assessing responses to the same laboratory stressors across occasions were reviewed with meta-analytic techniques. Changes in HR had the greatest reproducibility (r = .555), followed by systolic blood pressure (SBP) (.407) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (.348). Both SBP and HR response reproducibility was higher at shorter test-retest intervals, whereas DBP values varied unsystematically with length of test-retest interval. Older samples exhibited higher SBP and DBP reproducibility to stressors. SBP and DBP reproducibilities were better for tasks that did not make speech demands. The reliability of reactivity assessment was higher when based on three or more measurements. On the basis of available evidence, the drop in stress reproducibility, as test-retest interval increases, places limits on the viability of BP reactivity as a strong marker or risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Swain et al. (Fri,) conducted a meta-analysis in Blood pressure and heart rate reactivity. Laboratory stressors was evaluated on Reproducibility of heart rate and blood pressure reactivity (r = 0.555 for HR, 0.407 for SBP, 0.348 for DBP). Heart rate reactivity to laboratory stressors showed the greatest reproducibility (r = 0.555), followed by systolic (r = 0.407) and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.348).