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The effects of aging, chronic stress, and social support on cardiovascular functioning were examined using a cross-sectional design. Thirty-six family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease victims and 34 control Ss performed 2 active coping tasks while continuous noninvasive measures of cardiovascular activity were monitored. Results revealed that caregivers high in social support displayed typical age-related decreases in heart-rate reactivity, whereas caregivers low in social support displayed age-related increases in heart-rate reactivity. Analyses further indicated that only Ss with low social support were characterized by age-related increases in systolic blood pressure. These results suggest that social support can moderate age-related changes in cardiovascular functioning, particularly in Ss exposed to a chronic stressor.
Uchino et al. (Wed,) studied this question.