Workday communication and ambulatory blood pressure: Implications for the reactivity hypothesis

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was used to investigate the cardiovasc ular correlates of naturally occurring interpersonal interactions. Particip ants were New York City traffic agents, who routinely engage in conflict-pr one communication with the public under relatively fixed conditions. Talkin g with the public, supervisors, or coworkers was associated with levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate that exceeded a restin g baseline. Blood pressure was higher when agents were talking to the publi c than when they were talking to coworkers or engaged in a noncommunicative work task. Systolic blood pressure response during communication was assoc iated with the agent's mood. Blood pressure effects associated with communi cation appear to persist after the communication has ceased. Implications o f these data for the reactivity hypothesis of the pathogenesis of cardiovas cular disease are discussed.