The Influence of Acute Psychic Stress Situations on Biochemical and Vegetative Parameters of Essential Hypertensives at the Early Stage of the Disease

Normal persons and hypertensives at the early stage of the disease (corresponding to ‘mild hypertension’ as classified by the WHO) of male sex between 15 and 25 years were examined during a psychic stress situation and the adaptation of hypertensive to repeated experimental stress situations was markedly disturbed.

Abstract

Normal persons and hypertensives at the early stage of the disease (corresponding to ‘mild hypertension’ as classified by the WHO) of male sex between 15 and 25 years were examined during a psychic stress situation (repeated mental arithmetic under time-pressure). The stress situation effected: rise of the pulse rate, of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both groups; a prolonged persistence of increased pulse rate and blood glucose in hypertensives; increased oxygen consumption and muscular tonus (both the initial values and the values after stress situations were higher in hypertensives than in the control group); rise of noradrenalin, free fatty acids, cortisol and renin activity (orthostasis effect) in the plasma. In contrast to the control group the adaptation of hypertensives to repeated experimental stress situations was markedly disturbed.