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Link between your emotions and blood pressure is not just in your mind

(HealthDay News) – Get over it.

That trite, but sagacious advice actually could be a life-saver.

Research has shown that even thinking about negative events and relationships can cause your blood pressure to rise. And while it's not possible to purge your mind of every perceived insult, injury or slight, it is important to learn how to control these feelings.

A few years ago, researchers from the University of California , Irvine , found that just thinking about past emotional stress -- a fight with your spouse, the tantrum your toddler threw in the middle of the store, or your boss chewing you out -- can cause dramatic rises in blood pressure.

"The effects of an emotional stressor do not end with the removal of that stressor," says study author Laura Glynn, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the university. "Simply thinking about a stressful experience can produce significant and sustained blood pressure responses."

The good news is, if you can distract yourself and stop ruminating over the emotional stress, your blood pressure will quickly return to near normal levels, according to the study.

High blood pressure, a known risk factor for heart disease, affects almost one-in-four Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States alone, high blood pressure is responsible for more than 22,000 deaths and more than 20 million office visits to physicians every year.

For their study, Glynn and her colleagues recruited 72 college students with normal blood pressure readings. The researchers then asked them to perform one of four tasks while they monitored their blood pressure and heart rate. Later, they asked the participants to vividly recall performing the task, and again, monitored their heart rate and blood pressure.

The four tasks were: mental arithmetic, shock avoidance, physical exercise or a cold-water challenge.

Mental arithmetic involved counting backwards while being interrupted, often rudely. For example, the researcher might have said, "OK, you are going to have to start again, and this time I will let you count by sevens so it is easier for you."

For the shock avoidance task, the participants were hooked up to a fake shock-generating machine and told to press a button every time they saw a light. The researchers told them if they were not fast enough they would be given a mild shock. Both of these tasks were considered to be emotionally stressful.

The non-emotional tasks were walking in place to a set pace and placing an arm in cold water for three minutes.

Both emotional and non-emotional tasks caused blood pressure to rise while the tasks were being completed. However, when the study volunteers were later asked to recall the task, only the groups that performed the emotional tasks saw an increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure was almost 17 points higher and diastolic pressure was as much as nine points higher for the emotional task group.

"That's a pretty significant jump in blood pressure," says Dr. Dan Fisher, a cardiologist clinical assistant professor at New York University Medical Center .

"This [study] falls into line with some of the things we know already -- that stress causes higher blood pressure. But what's new here is that even remembering emotional stress can cause blood pressure to go up," Fisher adds.

He suggests people with a lot of stress in their lives learn to cope with it better, and try not to ruminate over past emotional stress.

Which is exactly what the final phase of Glynn's work would suggest.

After the mental arithmetic exercise, the researchers had 20 volunteers stay. Ten were asked to fill out a questionnaire and the remaining 10 were just asked to sit quietly. They found that when distracted, the participant's blood pressure dropped back to near normal after only two minutes. The volunteers who weren't distracted still had blood pressure readings as much as 20 points higher.

On the Web

To read more about how emotional stress can affect your blood pressure, read this report from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

SOURCES: Laura Glynn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Residence , University of California, Irvine; Dan Fisher, M.D., cardiologist and clinical assistant professor, cardiologist, New York University Medical Center, New York City; September/October 2002 Psychosomatic Medicine
Author: Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter
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