Blood pressure reactivity can be reduced by a cognitive behavioral stress management program

Although enhanced cardiovascular reactivity is extensively discussed as a relevant negative factor in the alteration of vascular structure, only a few controlled studies have been published presenting approaches to alter reactivity. Therefore, we examined whether enhanced reactivity could be reduced by stress management training (SMT). To control for expectation effects, progressive muscular relaxation (PMR) was the control condition. Forty-four patients with a blood pressure response greater than 15 mm Hg to a mental stress test participated in this study. Participants who took part in SMT showed a significantly stronger reduction of diastolic blood pressure reactivity to a mental stress test from pretest to posttest than the controls. Furthermore, patients who took part in SMT showed significantly smaller systolic blood pressure reactions to mental arithmetic and 2 social stress tests than the controls after the trainings. This study indicates that enhanced blood pressure reactivity can be reduced by SMT.