Traumatic stress can increase blood pressure

There are more people diagnosed with "post-traumatic stress disorder" among high blood pressure patients than in the general population, shows a new study by the Ulm University Hospital, which was presented at the 79th annual meeting of the German Cardiac Society (DGK). From Wednesday to Saturday (April 3 to 6), more than 7.500 participants from around 25 countries discussed current developments from all areas of cardiology in Mannheim. "We assume that in post-traumatic stress disorder, the chronic hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system is a possible cause for the frequent occurrence of blood pressure," said study author Dr. Elisabeth Balint from Ulm University Hospital.

In the study 77 hypertensive patients were studied. 10 percent showed the frame of post-traumatic stress disorder, which is significantly more than in the general population, more 12 percent met criteria for partial posttraumatic stress disorder. Overall 22 percent of the patients were clinically meaningful charged with the aftermath of a traumatic event.

Source:

E. Balint et al., The post-traumatic stress: possible connection with essential hypertension. Abstract P1440. Clin Res Cardiol 102, Suppl 1, 2013

Source: Mannheim [DGK]