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Elevated Resting Blood Pressure and Dampened Emotional Response

From the Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Cynthia Pury, Department of Psychology, Clemson University, 418 Brackett Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-1355. E-mail: cpury{at}clemson.edu

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.

Key Words: resting blood pressure, • emotion, • affect, • elevated blood pressure, • emotional dampening, • IAPS.

Abbreviations: SBP = systolic blood pressure;; DBP = diastolic blood pressure;; HR = heart rate;; IAPS = International Affective Picture System;; PANAS = Positive and Negative Affect Scale;; PA = positive affect;; NA = negative affect;; STAI = State-Trait Anxiety Inventory;; PCL-C = PTSD Checklist-Civilian.