These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: The role of angry rumination and distraction in blood pressure recovery from emotional arousal.
    Author: Gerin W, Davidson KW, Christenfeld NJ, Goyal T, Schwartz JE.
    Journal: Psychosom Med; 2006; 68(1):64-72. PubMed ID: 16449413.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: Cardiovascular recovery of prestress baseline blood pressure has been implicated as a possible additional determinant of sustained blood pressure elevation. We hypothesize that angry ruminations may slow the recovery process. METHOD: A within-subjects design was used in which resting baseline blood pressure and heart rate measurements were assessed on 60 subjects, who then took part in two anger-recall tasks. After each task, subjects sat quietly and alone during a 12-minute recovery period randomized to with or without distractions. During baseline, task, and recovery, blood pressure was continuously monitored; during recovery, subjects reported their thoughts at five fixed intervals. RESULTS: Fewer angry thoughts were reported in the distraction condition (17%) compared with no distraction (31%; p = .002); an interaction showed that this effect was largely the result of the two intervals immediately after the anger-recall task. Trait rumination interacted with distraction condition such that high ruminators in the no-distraction condition evidenced the poorest blood pressure recovery, assessed as area under the curve (p = .044 [systolic blood pressure] and p = .046 [diastolic pressure]). CONCLUSIONS: People who have a tendency to ruminate about past anger-provoking events may be at greater risk for target organ damage as a result of sustained blood pressure elevations; the effect is exacerbated when distractions are not available to interrupt the ruminative process.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]