Abstract
The present study examined the influence of trait anxiety on the cardiovascular responses of normotensive offspring of hypertensives and normotensives. Forty-eight young adult males, half of whom were offspring of hypertensives (PH+), were exposed to an extended active coping stressor. This was a 1 hr shock avoidance procedure with avoidance made contingent on video-game performance. Trait anxiety status interacted with parental history of hypertension in predicting cardiovascular response. PH+ subjects who scored high on trait anxiety exhibited greater elevations of heart rate and forearm blood flow, and decreases in forearm vascular resistance than did PH+/low trait anxiety subjects or offspring of normotensives (PH-). Cardiovascular responses of PH+/low trait anxiety subjects did not differ significantly from those of PH- subjects. Results suggest affective factors may moderate cardiovascular responses of individuals at risk for hypertension.
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