In a roundtable format, five doctors explore the reasons why regular physical activity should continue to play a significant role in the rehabilitation of patients with coronary artery disease. Endurance exercise training improves aerobic capacity, reduces blood pressure, and decreases risk. (Author/MT)

Relaxation and biofeedback have been established as being effective in reducing high blood pressure over both the short and long term. A study found that biofeedback, progressive relaxation, and biofeedback/relaxation combined were all effective treatments for borderline hypertension. (JD)

The ultimate goal of any hypertension control program is reduction of excessive morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Factors affecting detection of hypertension and compliance with educational intervention are discussed and implications drawn. (MT)

This study investigates the relationship between the subjective feelings of being under stress and elevated blood pressure. Consistent with the evidence in the cardiovascular disease literature, it was hypothesized that black hypertensives (HPB) would appraise themselves as under greater stress than normotensives (NBP). Seventy-seven primarily…

Outlines how persons can lower their blood pressure and improve their general physical and psychological health through daily use of the "relaxation response." Describes a recent study on the effects of relaxation interaction on a group of corporate employees. (JG)

Continued and expanded efforts to educate people as to what factors contribute to coronary heart disease will help to decrease its occurrence. Risk factors include: cholesterol, smoking, hypertension, obesity, heredity, psychological influences, and the taking of oral contraceptives or alcohol. (CJ)

This reference brief deals with the childhood antecedents to atherosclerosis and hypertension. While diet is related to the development of coronary artery diseases, there is some disagreement about what dietary changes are necessary or desirable in children to prevent their development, and at what age such changes should be made. Fifty-five…

Sought to determine the role of endogenous opioid mechanisms in the circulatory effects of relaxation training. Subjects were 32 young men with mildly elevated casual arterial pressure. Assessed opioid mechanisms by examining the effects of opioid receptor blockade with naltrexone on acute cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stress before and…

The availability of an increased variety of therapeutic approaches provides the opportunity to improve hypertension control while minimizing adverse effects that may influence cardiovascular complications and adherence to therapy. This report serves two purposes: (1) to guide practicing physicians and other health professionals in their care of…

Reviews the major physiological measures that have been examined in studies of stress at work. Attempts to show that procedures typically used for measuring the physiological symptoms of stress are inadequate and to show how the validity of work stress research can be improved with better measurement methods. (LLL)

Risk factors related to the incidence of heart disease are identified as target areas for education programs aimed at children. (JMF)

Patients with chronic conditions such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity might benefit from prescribed exercise. Although exercise does not reverse pathologic changes, it may play a role in disease management. (JD)

The relationships among weight, cigarette smoking, use of contraceptive pills, and blood pressure were investigated in over 1,500 college students who underwent physical examinations in their first and third academic years. Results of the study are discussed. (PP)

A review of literature related to the effectiveness of dietary interventions in controlling blood pressure concludes that the existing literature contains sufficient evidence to identify successful dietary intervention techniques, in either the short or long term, which modify sodium intake, fat intake, or calorie intake in middle-aged men. (IAH)