The under-reporting tendency of hypertensives: An analysis of potential psychological and physiological mechanisms

Elevated resting blood pressure and dampened emotional response

OBJECTIVE

Increased blood pressure is associated with decreased reports of aversiveness for both physical pain and psychosocial stressors. Based on these findings, higher blood pressure could be associated with altered emotional responses to a broader range of stimuli. There are at least 3 ways this could happen: a) less dire response to negative stimuli with no change in response to positive stimuli; b) more positive responses to both negative and positive stimuli; or c) dampened emotional responses to both positive and negative stimuli.

METHODS

Sixty-five normotensive volunteers had their resting blood pressure measured, then rated their emotional responses to a series of positive and negative photographs.

RESULTS

Resting systolic blood pressure was significantly and negatively correlated with subjective emotional ratings of both positive (r = -.26) and negative (r = -.35) photographs.

CONCLUSION

Results were consistent with emotion dampening for elevated resting blood pressure and may reflect homeostatic integration of neurocirculatory control and affect regulation.