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The recent development of a noninvasive automated blood pressure device has revealed a strong relationship between human conversation and blood pressure. Conventional techniques of pressure measurement such as the stethoscope and manometer, which require silence during the measurement, tended to obscure this important relationship. Findings from this study indicate that interpersonal communications surrounding the measurement of blood pressure can rapidly alter systolic and diastolic pressures. In certain situations, changes greater than 20 per cent in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate can occur within 30 seconds after the initiation of human speech. Such variance can be of critical significance in making clinical judgments concerning hypertension. These findings are discussed in the context of recent nonpharmacological treatment approaches being developed to help control hypertension.

There is a set of behavioral and physiologic responses to companion animals that can be reliably observed under both experimental and natural conditions. These responses indicate that contact with companion animals can be an effective means of reducing stress.

In a sample of 225 coronary care patients it was observed that a significant reduction in ventricular arrhythmias occurred following pulse palpation. These data suggest that significant changes in ventricular arrhythmia can occur as a result of even minimally arousing psychosocial interactions.

Children with grossly observable physical activity during intraoral injection have significant heart rate accelerations. Children in whom movement is absent or confined to the muscles of facial expression experience heart rate deceleration. Both groups of children show anxiety, hence heart rate cannot be used to index anxiety. Moreover, anxiety cannot be described along a single dimension of arousal.

In a study of 62 coronary care patients, 31 of whom exhibited types of cardiac arrhythmia, the frequency of ectopic beats changed significantly when a nurse palpated the pulse. This finding suggests that autonomic responses to human contact can significantly alter the rate of ectopic impulse generation. These findings further suggest that studies of cardiac arrhythmia should attend to the nature of the social field in which data are collected.

In a 3-year prospective study of recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) in a population of 149 student nurses, 40 to 50 per cent of the variance in incidence could be explained by a small group of variables. Measures of previous experience with RHL accounted for the largest fraction of the explained variance, followed by upper respiratory infection (URI) rate, socioeconomic status, and mood trait, in order of declining influence. Timing of RHL episodes was not related to phase of the menstrual cycle.

The use of a recently developed noninvasive automated blood-pressure device has revealed a striking relationship between human communication and elevations in blood pressure in both normotensive and hypertensive individuals. Individuals with higher resting baseline pressures tended to show greater increases during talking than did those with lower pressures. In some hypertensive individuals increases blood pressure greater than 25-40% occurred within 30 sec after the initiation of human speech. Links between difficulties surrounding human communication and elevations in blood pressure are discussed.

Using a noninvasive automatic device to rapidly and repeatedly measure blood pressure, a striking relationship was found between talking and an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. This finding was demonstrated in a variety of experimental settings (the laboratory, medical clinic, classroom and home) in both children and adults and in both normotensive and hypertensive individuals. A significant positive correlation was also observed between the level of resting pressure and the magnitude of increase in pressure while talking. These findings point toward an important link between human communication and blood pressure control that has previously been overlooked. They also suggest a new conceptual approach to the understanding and treatment of hypertension.

The effect of the presence of a friendly animal on children's blood pressures and heart rates while resting and their cardiovascular responses to verbalization were examined. The presence of the dog resulted in lower blood pressures both while the children (N = 38) were resting and while they were reading. The effect of the presence of the dog was greater when the dog was present initially than when it was introduced in the second half of the experiment. We speculate that the animal causes the children to modify their perceptions of the experimental situation and the experimenter by making both less threatening and more friendly. This study provides insight into the use of pets as adjuncts in psychotherapy.