Effects of mild cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders on serial reaction time performance

Medical examinations were used to classify 271 adults aged 18-77 into 6 groups: normotensive, treated and untreated hypertensive, coronary heart disease (CHD), transient ischemic attack (TIA), and recovered stroke. They were also divided by age into 3 groups: 18-36, 37-55, and over 55 years. Each subject completed 12 reaction time (RT) tasks which involved making 16 consecutive responses without interruption. Serial RT increased with age throughout the lifespan. RT was also increased in treated hypertensive patients; this slowing was unrelated to type of drug treatment. Patients with cerebrovascular disorders showed greater slowing and also made more errors; TIA patients showed greatest impairment. No significant performance deficits were observed in untreated hypertensive or CHD groups. However, a trend toward slowing among untreated hypertensive patients with high plasma renin activity was observed. Behavioral deficits associated with both aging and diagnosed vascular disorders were interpreted as evidence of impaired brain function.