Journal Articles
Abstract:
This study examined cardiovascular (CV) responses during daily activities among patients with myocardial infarction (MI) with high and low scores on the Cook-Medley hostility (Ho) questionnaire. Ambulatory recordings of heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were recorded during routine daily activities, and patients completed a behavioral diary. During periods of low emotional stress, patients with low Ho scores exhibited higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) than patients with high Ho scores. During high levels of emotional stress, SBP levels for patients with high and low Ho scores did not differ. However, post-hoc comparisons showed that emotional stress was associated with greater SPB responses for patients with high Ho scores, but not for patients with low Ho scores. Additional analyses failed to find Ho group differences for CV levels at home and work, or during periods of high and low mental effort. The findings are discussed in light of laboratory evidence suggesting that patients with high Ho scores exhibit increased CV responses to stress-provoking tasks.