Heart Rate and Blood Pressure Reactivity during Active Coping with a Mental Task in Healthy 18- to 73-Year-Old Subjects

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Abstract
Alterations with aging in the responses of heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) reactivity were investigated during mild mental stress induced by undergoing a psychometric test, in 52 women and men aged 18–73 years, with no history of cardiovascular, renal or neurological deficits. HR and BP responses were measured before, during and after the test. Resting HR and diastolic BP (DBP) were not age-related while resting systolic BP (SBP) was. HR and SBP were increased during test performance. HR reactivity, measured during task execution as well as during recovery, was significantly decreased in older subjects. DBP recovery variation was lowered with age. These results indicate that age is an important determinant of the magnitude of cardiovascular adjustment during minor mental stress in women and men.