[Current psychological findings in essential hypertension].
Many authors have investigated the role of psychic factors in the pathogenesis of idiopathic hypertension. Experimental studies have confirmed that the emotional stress induces a longterm blood pressure increase. Psychophysiologic investigations have revealed that patients with essential hypertension, when compared to the healthy population, are characterized by prompt reactions at the very initial stage of the disease, accompanied by an elevation of the biochemical and vegetative functional parameters, blood pressure in particular. It is in concordance with findings that hypertonics have hemodynamic reactions at rest quite similar to those found in normotonics under the emotional stress. Certain psychosocial factors cannot be identified as absolute causes of the disease. Their particular role varies from person to person. It depends on particular personality features whether any of these factors will be experienced as a stress. It has therefore been assumed that hypertension is a concomitant vegetative phenomenon, typical for people who have a permanent feeling of anger or for ambitious people who are under a permanent pressure of striving for success. Numerous psychological investigations have led to a conclusion that hypertonics have psychological troubles which cannot generally be considered as specific for hypertension. The question concerning the part played by such behaviour as the primary cause of the disease is still to be answered. Doubtlessly, such behaviour is frequent in hypertonics and it probably contributes to persistence of the disease, since they are more apt to stressogenic situations. These findings have resulted in formulating the therapeutic strategies with psychophysiologic orientation. At the physiological level, they resolve the increased excitement and lower the excessive reactivity of the vegetative nervous system, whereas on the psychological level, applying psychotherapy methods, they achieve both cognitive and behavioural changes.
Aracki
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Klinicki centar, Novi Sad.
Aracki
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D001794:Blood Pressure; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010551:Personality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology