Relationship Between Essential Hypertension and Cognitive Functioning: Effects of Biofeedback.

Seven male essential hypertensives underwent 9 weekly 2-hr biofeedback training sessions in an attempt to produce decreases in blood pressure. Feedback, contingent upon heart beat by heart beat decreases in systolic pressure, was provided by an automated blood pressure monitoring system. The subjects were administered the Category Test (a subtest of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery) both before and after biofeedback training. As controls, 4 male hypertensives underwent 3 weekly sessions in which blood pressure was monitored without feedback being provided. Prior to training, a significant positive correlation was obtained between systolic blood pressure and number of errors made on the Category Test. Biofeedback training produced significant decreases in systolic pressure within sessions and in diastolic pressure between sessions. In the control subjects, no significant changes in pressure were observed. For both systolic and diastolic pressures, significant correlations were obtained between magnitude of decrease during biofeedback training and improvement in Category Test scores subsequent to training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]