Relaxation, Autonomic Control and Hypertension

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Abstract
The study on psychotherapeutic control of hypertension by Stone and De Leo in this issue of the Journal is intriguing. Most clinicians and investigators would concur that rest and relaxation may lower arterial pressure, particularly in the early stages of hypertensive disease, and that the sympathetic nervous system is one of the factors involved in maintaining, if not triggering, hypertension. Thus, one tends to agree generally with the conclusions of Stone and De Leo, despite limitations of the experimental design.Two questions may be raised about the conclusions: Was psychologic relaxation the cause of the fall in blood pressure? Was . . .