title: The cold pressor test: vascular and myocardial response patterns and their stability.
abstract: The purposes of the present study were to compare the cardiovascular response patterns evoked by three versions of the cold pressor test (either forehead stimulation or hand or foot immersion) and to determine the reproducibility of the responses over a 2-week interval. Blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, and systolic time intervals were obtained during rest and during the cold pressor test in 42 young men. Across conditions, the pressor response was supported by peripheral resistance increases with concomitant stroke volume decreases. Although the response patterns were generally similar across sites, exceptions were apparent for heart rate. Forehead stimulation was characterized by no significant change in heart rate, whereas limb (hand or foot) immersion was associated with significant heart rate acceleration. The responses elicited by the three cold pressor test conditions were reliable and showed little evidence of attenuation over the test-retest interval.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables 33124.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Saab
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Llabre
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Hurwitz
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schneiderman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wohlgemuth
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Durel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Massie
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nagel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005528:Foot / Q000502:physiology; D005546:Forehead / Q000502:physiology; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006334:Heart Function Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000502:physiology