We have conducted a cross-cultural (USA and USSR) comparison of thermal biofeedback (TBF) and autogenic training (AT) to a self-relaxation control condition in 59 unmedicated males with mild hypertension. Identical assessment and treatment protocols were carried out in both settings (Albany, New York, and Moscow). Treatments were delivered in small groups on an outpatient basis twice per week for 10 weeks. Results showed comparable, significant (p < .05), short-term decreases (M = 8.5 mm Hg) in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) for both treatments at both sites. However, the Soviet patients, starting with significantly {p < .01) higher systolic blood pressures Requests for reprints should be sent to
This study investigated the ability of pretreatment variables from three different domains (social-demographic, psychological, and psychophysiological) to predict posttreatment mean arterial pressure (MAP) for 59 unmedicated males with mild hypertension who were participating in a cross-cultural (USA-USSR) comparison of autogenic training and thermal biofeedback to a self-relaxation control. The overall multiple regression equation consisted of two variables and indicated that higher diastolic blood pressures during a cold pressor task were predictive of greater MAP reductions while higher scores on the Irritability subscale of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Scale were predictive of less MAP reductions. Suggestions for future research in this area are provided.
Two hundred three patients with essential hypertension (20-to 55-year-old men) were examined initially and at the end of a 1-year follow-up. Clinical, psychological, and psychophysiological methods were used. In the psychophysiological assessment, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate, and respiratory rate were recorded at rest and during various emotional stressors. Patients who exhibited a greater increase in blood pressure during psychological stress, in addition to an inherited predisposition to essential hypertension, had higher levels of assertiveness and interpersonal conflict. The differences in cardiovascular response to various emotional stressors depended on the psychological features of the hypertensive patients. An SBP increase during the performance of mental arithmetic correlated with anxiety level, whereas a DBP increase was associated with assertiveness. Changes in SBP and DBP during a stressful computer game correlated with the level of competitiveness and conflict. Hypertensive patients who exhibited an increase in blood pressure during the follow-up were characterized initially by a greater DBP increase during emotional stress and a longer recovery period.
Cardiovascular reactivity (heart rate, systolic, and diastolic BP) to mental arithmetic and cold pressor were measured before and after treatment as part of the cross-cultural (USSR and USA) evaluation of thermal biofeedback and autogenic training (in comparison with self-relaxation) as treatments for mild hypertension in unmedicated males. There were no statistically reliable decreases in cardiovascular reactivity from before to after treatment. However, downward shifts in basal levels of systolic and diastolic BP at post-treatment led treated patients to have lower stress-induced levels of BP.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.