Behavioral consequences of mild hypertension.

Abstract

SUMMARY Tests made of the sensory-perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor abilities of untreated young patients with essential hypertension have revealed a pattern suggesting a slight functional impairment of the central nervous system. Reduced performance was most marked for those tasks requiring speed arid psychomotor coordination, particularly when the behaviors observed were self-initiated. Lowered scores were more evident among female hypertensives; no differences in performance by race were noted. The deficits measured by these sensitive tests do not appear to be great enough to intrude on everyday activity nor to impair work ability. Changes that may result from blood-pressure-lowering therapies will require further study. (Hypertension 4: 355-360, 1982) KEY WORDS • mild hypertension • behavioral consequences • psychological tests

Qualidade de Vida de pacientes hipertensos e comparação entre dois instrumentos de medida de QVRS

“…Hypertension, due to its chronicity, may interfere directly with various aspects of the patient's life. Self-esteem can be undermined leading to negative feelings such as depression and anxiety 27 . Just the fact that the individual being labeled as hypertensive may lead them to manifestations of anxiety and insecurity.…”

Effect of antihypertensive treatment on the behavioral consequences of elevated blood pressure.

“…From the 41 matched pairs of normotensives and hypertensives (82 subjects) who had been tested in the previous study, 21 we were able to retest 58 subjects, consisting of 12 normotensive men, 16 hypertensive men, 12 normotensive women, and 18 hypertensive women.…”

“…5 Since some of these studies were conducted with highly selected subjects, 7 l8 often with small numbers, 6 " and with populations with high levels of psychopathology , 6 7 l2 16 we decided to assess a broad battery of psychological functions in a reasonably large sample of newly detected, untreated hypertensive patients and carefully matched normotensive controls. 21 Generally young and otherwise healthy, these patients were representative of early mild hypertensives in the general population. The results of this earlier study demonstrated that, even in these early and mild cases, there were significant differences in performance scores on a number of the tests -all in the direction of impaired behavioral scores in the hypertensives.…”

“…Our present study was designed as a follow-up to our previous study 21 of matched groups of normotensive subjects and newly detected, untreated hypertensive patients. Subsequent to that study, the hypertensive patients had continued to be seen at the Hypertension Clinic of the University Health Center or by private physicians, but pharmacological treatment was left to their physicians' decisions and was not prescribed as part of our study protocol.…”

Nonpharmacologic Approaches to the Treatment of Hypertension

“…Only preliminary steps have been taken in this regard. For example, hypertension has been found to be associated with impairment of various parameters of brain function (99,100). In 1977, Kleinman and co-workers demonstrated that biofeedback-assisted relaxa tion could reverse some of these changes (101).…”