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Situational determinants of cardiovascular and emotional reactivity in high and low hostile men
1Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
Insights
High hostility scores in men are linked to greater cardiovascular arousal during stressful situations. This suggests anger and irritation may play a role in hostility
Area of Science:
- Psychophysiology
- Cardiovascular Health
- Behavioral Medicine
Background:
- Epidemiologic studies link high Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) scores to increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.
- Sympathetic nervous system hyperresponsivity to stressors is a suspected biological mechanism for this association.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate cardiovascular reactivity in young men with high versus low Ho scores.
- To examine the influence of harassment during a cognitive task on cardiovascular responses.
- To investigate the relationship between self-reported anger/irritation and cardiovascular arousal in relation to Ho scores.
Main Methods:
- Young men with high and low Ho scores performed an anagram task.
- The task was performed under two conditions: without harassment and with harassment.
- Cardiovascular reactivity (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate) and self-reported emotions were measured.
Main Results:
- Harassment significantly increased cardiovascular arousal compared to the non-harassment condition.
- This increase in cardiovascular arousal was more pronounced in men with high Ho scores.
- Increased anger and irritation during harassment were associated with enhanced cardiovascular arousal, but only in the high Ho group.
Conclusions:
- Situation characteristics, like harassment, mediate the link between hostility scores and cardiovascular reactivity.
- Anger and irritation may contribute to the pathogenesis of CHD through cardiovascular arousal.
- There appears to be a differential biological link between anger/irritation and cardiovascular responses based on hostility levels.
Abstract:
Various epidemiologic studies have found that high scores on the Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) scale are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), severity of atherosclerosis, and all-cause mortality. One plausible biological mechanism suspected of contributing to increased risk of CHD is sympathetic nervous system-mediated hyperresponsivity to environmental stressors. The present study evaluated cardiovascular reactivity among young men with high versus low Ho scores during performance of an anagram task with or without harassment. Compared to performing the task alone, harassment led to increased cardiovascular arousal that was more pronounced for the high Ho subjects than the low Ho subjects. Moreover, harassment produced increases in self-rated anger, irritation, and tension, but it was only among those subjects with high Ho scores that increased anger and irritation were associated with enhanced cardiovascular arousal. While suggesting a role for anger- and irritation-induced cardiovascular arousal in pathogenesis of CHD, these findings indicate that situation characteristics mediate the relationship between Ho scores and cardiovascular reactivity, and that there may be a differential biological link between anger/irritation and cardiovascular responses in men with high and low Ho scores.