Relaxation therapy lowers blood pressure more effectively in hypertensives with raised plasma norepinephrine and blunts pressor response to anger.

The effects of relaxation therapy on blood pressure and neural responses to "social stress"-anger instigation were determined in 30 male patients with mild primary hypertension. "Social stress"-anger induced increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressures (both p less than 0.01) and plasma norepinephrine (p less than 0.05) before therapy. Diastolic blood pressure before and during anger challenge were related to simultaneous plasma norepinephrine (r = 0.56, p less than 0.01 and r = 0.39, p less than 0.05). Relaxation reduced resting diastolic blood pressure (p less than 0.01), the reduction of blood pressure was related to baseline plasma norepinephrine (p less than 0.05). The pressor response of systolic blood pressure to anger challenge (p less than 0.02) was blunted by relaxation therapy. These findings suggested that noradrenergic control of blood pressure was amplified during stress and relaxation therapy was effective in lowering blood pressure and neutralizing the response to "social stress" anger instigation.