Cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stress in aerobically trained versus untrained mild hypertensives and normotensives.

Compared cardiovascular reactivity to video game and mental arithmetic stressors among 3 groups of men (aged 21–63 yrs): (a) 11 aerobically trained mild hypertensives, (b) 7 untrained mild hypertensives, and (c) 9 untrained normotensives. Blood pressure (BP) reactivity of normotensives during the video game was generally similar to that of trained hypertensives but smaller than that of untrained hypertensives. There were no group differences in reactivity during mental arithmetic. Results indicate that aerobic training, which has been found to reduce resting BP in mild hypertensives, may also exert a favorable impact in reducing cardiovascular reactivity of hypertensives during some stressful situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)