How many sphygmomanometric cuff inflations are necessary to obtain a hemodynamic baseline?

The purpose of this study was to determine the minimum number of consecutive blood pressure cuff inflations required to obtain seated stable resting baseline measurements of heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP). Sixty male college students aged 18 to 31 years volunteered as study subjects. Thirteen observations of HR, SBP, DBP, and MAP were recorded at 90-second intervals for each subject using a Critikon-Dinamap monitor.

Speech rate, loudness, and cardiovascular reactivity.

This paper reports the results of two studies that investigated the relationship between speech rate, loudness, and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). One study involved the separate manipulation of speech rate and loudness and assessed its effects on CVR during a routine reading task. The second study involved the simultaneous manipulation of both loudness and speech rate and studied its effects on CVR within the context of a personal interview.

Gender differences in cardiovascular reactivity.

Pronounced cardiovascular reactivity to stress is a behavioral mechanism that may underlie the pathophysiology of coronary heart disease (CHD). Based on the greater incidence of CHD among males than among females, the purpose of the current investigation was to test the hypothesis that in young adults (ages 17-29), males (n = 47) show more cardiovascular reactivity than females (n = 61) to two stressors, a video game and cigarette smoking. Five of the six comparisons did not support the hypothesis: females were higher on heart rate and diastolic blood pressure reactivity to both stressors; males were higher on systolic blood pressure reactivity to the video game only.

Aerobic fitness, psychological characteristics, and cardiovascular reactivity to stress.

Examined the relations among aerobic fitness (AF), psychological characteristics, and cardiovascular reactivity using 62 men divided into highly fit and less fit groups based on a maximal treadmill exercise test. Several psychological and physiological variables were measured, and subjects' cardiovascular reactivity was assessed during a mental arithmetic task and during a video game task. Highly fit subjects showed a significantly smaller increase in both diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) and reported themselves to be less anxious and less angry than less fit subjects.

Components of hostility as predictors of sudden death and myocardial infarction in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial.

We tested the hypothesis that hostility is associated with increased relative risk (RR) for coronary death and nonfatal myocardial infarction among participants in the prospective Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). Cases (N = 192) were compared with matched controls (N = 384) on a variety of behavioral characteristics associated with the Type A behavior pattern (TABP), including three different but interrelated components of hostility. Logistic regression analyses revealed that only two of the eight TABP attributes analyzed on the overall sample were significant.

Potential for hostility and dimensions of anger.

Recent reviews have linked Potential for Hostility derived from the Structured Interview (SI) to coronary artery disease, independent of the global Type A pattern. The present study examined the construct validity of Potential for Hostility ratings by correlating Potential for Hostility with 21 scales from four widely used anger/hostility measures: 7 scales from the Anger Self-Report, 8 scales from the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, the total score from the Novaco Anger Inventory, and 5 scales from the Multidimensional Anger Inventory. The pattern of correlations revealed that Potential for Hostility was significantly related to scales reflecting awareness and arousal of anger, particularly the verbal expression of anger.

Coronary prone behavior: components of the type A pattern and hostility.

Traditional and nontraditional risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) are discussed with special attention devoted to the Type A behavior pattern (TABP). Positive and negative epidemiological evidence bearing on the risk factors status of global TABP is reviewed. Results of the review suggest that component scoring of the multidimensional global TABP in attempts to uncover "toxic" components, particularly Potential for Hostility, is a profitable research strategy.

Exercise hypertension: behavior and the dynamic action of risk factors.

Epidemiological research identifies risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) to enable interventions to reduce the incidence of the disease. The twenty-year decline in cardiovascular-related deaths, however, cannot be explained solely by any pronounced changes in the classic risk factors (serum cholesterol, blood pressure and cigarette smoking) or related behaviors. Accordingly, it is apparent that there is much unexplained variance in the pathophysiology of CHD and that various behaviors are not associated with the classic risk factors in a simplistic fashion.

Effects of beta-adrenergic stimulation and blockade on cardiovascular reactivity, affect, and type A behavior.

The present study examined the acute effects of drugs that stimulate or block sympathetic nervous system activity on components of Type A behavior, affect, and cardiovascular responses to mental stressors. Either propranolol (a beta-adrenergic blocker), isoproterenol (a beta-agonist), or placebo was infused intravenously at different times in 12 healthy males. In two sessions, placebo (saline) was administered first, followed by a structured interview, challenging mental arithmetic test, and completion of affect scales.

Components of hostility and the severity of coronary artery disease.

Previous research has linked various measures of hostility to the prevalence and incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). The present study sought to determine whether some dimensions of hostility are differentially related to angiographically documented severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Specifically, a hostility measure that correlates with indices of neuroticism was compared with a hostility measure unrelated to neurotic tendencies.

Individual differences in cardiovascular reactions to stress and cigarette smoking.

The present study examined the stability of cardiovascular reactions to psychological stress and cigarette smoking, and the extent to which cardiovascular reactions to stress were predictive of cardiovascular reactions to smoking. Thirty subjects were given an initial test involving two repetitions of mental arithmetic stress and paced smoking while blood pressure and heart rate were measured. Two months later, 26 of these subjects were retested in the same paradigm.

Components of Type A, hostility, and anger-in: relationship to angiographic findings.

Previous research has linked the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern to angiographically documented severity of coronary atherosclerosis (CAD). The present study sought through component scoring of the Type A Structured Interview (SI) to determine what elements of the multidimensional Type A pattern are related to coronary disease severity in a selected group of patients with minimal or severe CAD. Multivariate analyses controlling for the major risk factors showed no relationship between global Type A and extent of disease.

Selective cardiovascular effects of stress and cigarette smoking in young women.

In an earlier study, we found that men who smoked a cigarette and then engaged in a mildly stressful activity (video game) evidenced pronounced increases in heart rate and blood pressure, which were approximately equal to the sum of the effects produced by either smoking alone or stress alone. In the present study, a 2 (smoke vs. sham smoke) X 2 (stress vs.

Components of type A, hostility, and anger-in: further relationships to angiographic findings.

In a previous study of patients undergoing angiography at Duke University Medical Center, we reported that of all components of the Type A behavior pattern (TABP), only Potential for Hostility and Anger-In were significantly associated with extent of coronary artery disease (CAD). The present study was undertaken to replicate these findings using a different patient population. Tape-recorded structured interviews from 125 angiography patients at Massachusetts General Hospital were blind scored using the component scoring system employed in the Duke study.

Familial resemblance in components of the type A behavior pattern: a reanalysis of the California type A twin study.

Rosenman and colleagues reported no heritability of global Type A behavior assessed by the Structured Interview (SI) method, although some of the self-report scales correlated with global Type A behavior did have heritable components. Recent factor analyses of coded SI responses revealed four independent dimensions: clinical ratings, primarily of speech stylistics; and self-reports of pressured drive, anger, and competitiveness. It may be that some of these dimensions have a heritable base, whereas others do not.

Desirability of control versus locus of control: relationship to paralinguistics in the type A interview.

David Glass has suggested that need for control is an important dimension underlying the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern. However, this hypothesis has never been directly tested. Findings from the present study supported the hypothesis by showing a significant relationship between measures of desire for control and the Type A pattern as assessed by both the structured interview and questionnaire methods, and with Type A voice stylistics.

Component analysis of the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern in male and female college students.

Two studies investigated the psychological dimensions encompassed by the Rosenman Structured Interview (SI) method of assessing the Type A behavior pattern. In Study 1, female students completed the SI and Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS). Factor analysis of the verbal stylistic and answer content components of the SI yielded a 5-factor solution, with one factor--Clinical Rating--accounting for most nonerror variance in Type A ratings.

Selective cardiovascular effects of stress and cigarette smoking.

The purpose of the present study was to determine how cigarette smoking and psychological stress combine to affect cardiovascular function. Stress was operationally defined as playing a series of difficult video games under challenging instructional conditions. Following an initial test game, 51 smokers were randomly assigned to a 2 (smoke vs.

Propranolol medication among coronary patients: relationship to type A behavior and cardiovascular response.

The present correlational study compared behavioral and psychophysiological characteristics of coronary patients who were either medicated or not medicated with the beta-adrenergic blocking drug propranolol. Eighty-eight patients were given a structured Type A interview (SI) and a history quiz while heart rate and blood pressure were monitored. Data were analyzed controlling for age, sex, extent of coronary artery disease, and history of angina.

Unique and common variance in structured interview and Jenkins Activity Survey measures of the type A behavior pattern.

The aim of the present study was to identify factors that account for similarities and discrepancies in classification of Type A and B behavior by the Structured Interview (SI) and by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS). Two diverse samples were administered the SI and the JAS. SI questions were coded for content of response and psychomotor behavior during the interview.

Coronary prone behavior and cardiovascular reactions during the German version of the type A interview and during a quiz.

Type A behavior (TABP) was assessed in 212 German policemen using the structured interview (Si), whereby 10% were classified as A1 (= extreme type A), 48% as A2 (= moderate), 13% as X (= indefinite), and 29% as B (= non type A) by two independent raters. Moreover, traditional risk factors were assessed: serum cholesterol (CHOL) including high density (HDL) and low density cholesterols (LDL), cigarette smoking habits; at rest, during the Si and during a quiz systolic (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), as well as heart rate (HR) were measured, and pressure-rate-index (PRi) was calculated. As in this group of policemen TABP and many of the investigated parameters were dependent on age, in a preliminary data analysis 18 type A1 subjects (group A) were compared to 18 age matched type B or X subjects (group B).

Bio-behavioural perspectives on coronary heart disease, hypertension and sudden cardiac death.

A series of research developments is described which together consider the problem of the relationships between behavioural, physiological and pathophysiological processes. Arguments are advanced for the measurement of challenge-induced changes in haemodynamic responses for use in the understanding, prediction and control of coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension and sudden cardiac death. A methodology is presented as a possible tool for accomplishing this latter goal and preliminary data are reported in support of the feasibility of these methods.

Challenge-induced cardiovascular response as a predictor of minor illnesses.

Male college students (n = 64) participated in a competitive "TV tennis game" while their heart rate and blood pressure were monitored. Subsequently, their health records were inspected to determine frequency of illnesses. Subjects who responded during the contest with extreme increases in heart rate and diastolic blood pressure were significantly more likely to have frequent minor illnesses than those responding with moderate or low increases.