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Family history of hypertension, gender, and cardiovascular responsivity during stress
K A Lawler1, J Lacy, C A Armstead
1Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996.
Insights
Family history of hypertension impacts male cardiovascular stress responses, increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Heart rate reactivity affects both genders similarly, but males with a family history show heightened responses.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Hypertension Research
- Stress Response Studies
Background:
- Family history of hypertension is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- Understanding gender-specific cardiovascular responses to stress is crucial for risk assessment.
- Previous research has not fully elucidated the interplay between family history, gender, and cardiovascular reactivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of family history of hypertension and gender on cardiovascular responses during stress.
- To examine differences in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and rate pressure product between individuals with and without a family history of hypertension.
- To determine the relationship between heart rate reactivity and cardiovascular function across genders.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment of 123 subjects.
- Monitoring of cardiovascular responses (systolic blood pressure, heart rate, rate pressure product) during rest and two cognitive tasks (reaction time, Ravens progressive matrices).
- Categorization of subjects by gender and family history of hypertension (positive/negative), and by heart rate reactivity (high/low).
Main Results:
- Males with a positive family history of hypertension showed higher systolic blood pressure than negative males.
- Positive-family history males exhibited higher rate pressure product than positive-family history females.
- Positive-family history males had heart rate levels comparable to females; no differences were found among females based on family history.
- Heart rate reactivity demonstrated similar effects on cardiovascular function in both males and females.
- In males, heart rate reactivity during rest and tasks was associated with a family history of hypertension.
Conclusions:
- Family history of hypertension is linked to distinct cardiovascular stress responses in males.
- Heart rate reactivity plays a significant role in cardiovascular function for both genders.
- The findings highlight the importance of considering both family history and gender in evaluating cardiovascular stress responses.
Abstract:
The relationships of family history of hypertension and gender to cardiovascular responses to stress were investigated in this research. One hundred twenty-three subjects were monitored while they rested and performed two tasks, reaction time and Ravens progressive matrices. Positive-family history males exhibited higher levels of systolic blood pressure than the negative male group and higher levels of rate pressure product than the positive-family history female group. Positive-family history males also had heart rate levels as high as the females. Female subjects did not differ from each other based on family history. In addition, subjects were grouped by gender and by high- or low-heart rate reactivity. The results suggest that heart rate reactivity has equally broad effects on cardiovascular function for males and females; for males, this reactivity during rests and tasks also tends to be associated with family history of hypertension.