Cardiovascular responsivity to stress in adolescents with and without persistently elevated blood pressure

Abstract

These results suggest that vascular reactivity to behavioural stressors may be useful in predicting risk of hypertension because of its sensitivity in distinguishing adolescents with consistently elevated blood pressure from those with labile blood pressure and those with normal blood pressure.

A randomised controlled trial of the effect of anticipation of a blood test on blood pressure

“…Some studies suggest that the blood pressure response to situational anxiety is a predictor of future hypertension. [4][5][6] Others have reached the opposite conclusion. [7][8][9] A large white coat effect appears to be less strongly associated with adverse prognosis than mild hypertension.…”

Measures of Total Stress-Induced Blood Pressure Responses Are Associated With Vascular Damage

“…18 The hemodynamic response to mental stimuli, consisting of the combination of a reduction in blood supply and an increase in cardiac demand, might explain the role of mental stress in the onset of myocardial ischemia 1 and in the rise of cardiovascular damage in hypertensive individuals. 19 Moreover, peripheral alterations may increase reactivity in individuals with normal emotional neuroendocrine responses. 20 Our hypertensive subjects, in fact, had no significant differences with regard to familial history and estimated duration of hypertension, BMI, and smoking habit; but those with the highest mFVR value, which is associated with microvascular angina, 21 showed the highest BP reactivity.…”

Blood pressure variability, prehypertension, and hypertension in adolescents

“…Saab et al describe an interesting set of findings that a range of responses to behavioral stresses were found, with the adolescents with high BP being more vascularly responsive than those with labile BP. The adolescents with labile BP were more responsive than those with normal BP 36. An interesting study of 35 adolescents with high normal BP, studied before the Fourth Report which defined pre-HTN in adolescents, randomized almost half of the group to a transcendental meditation intervention and the others to a health education control group.…”