PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIVITY OF BORDERLINE HYPERTENSIVES AND THEIR RECOVERY AFTER MENTAL STRESS

The question of psychophysiological reactivity of borderline hypertens ives is still controversial. Methods: Young males with borderline bloo d pressure levels and normotensive controls were recruited during a ro utine examination. Samples of study I comprised 19 subjects, samples o f study II 18 subjects. Two stressors were presented (distressing movi e, mental arithmetic), each followed by a recovery phase. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and electrodermal parameters we re assessed repeatedly. Results: Borderline hypertensives showed great er reactions to stressors in systolic blood pressure only. Changes in percentage of baseline levels were essentially the same. Recovery afte r stress did not differ between groups. Conclusion: Only moderate supp ort is given to the hypothesis that borderline hypertensives show incr eased and slowly recovering psychophysiological responses.