title: Anxiety moderates cardiovascular responses to painful stimuli during sphygmomanometry.
abstract: Sphygmomanometry is the most common technique of blood pressure (BP) determination. We were interested in the role of anxiety as a predictor of BP changes induced by painful stimuli during sphygmomanometry. We studied 141 normotensive healthy subjects who were asked to complete a State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI) prior to the experiment. BP was determined continuously and non-invasively using a Finapres device (Penaz-technique) and by arm sphygmomanometry. Five sphygmomanometric measurements took place, during the fourth the arm cuff was inflated to 300 mmHg (unpredictable to the subject), the others were done with a pressure of 175 mmHg. State and trait anxiety (STAI X1 and X2) correlated positively with diastolic BP changes during inflation of the arm cuff (state anxiety: r = 0.26, P < 0.05; trait anxiety: r = 0.20, P < 0.05). Our results suggest that anxiety may have an impact on cardiovascular responses following painful stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical School Hannover, Germany. rollnik.jens@mh-hannover.de
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Rollnik
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kugler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D019722:Sphygmomanometers / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D013694:Temperament / Q000502:physiology