Hypertension is associated with a reduction in sensitivity to pain in both animals and humans. Changes in nociception pre-date elevations in blood pressure in animals genetically predisposed to hypertension, and preliminary findings with male offspring of hypertensives indicate that genetic risk for hypertension is related to decreased pain sensitivity in humans. Sensitivity to naturalistic and laboratory pain stimuli was compared in normotensive females with and without a parental history of hypertension in three studies. Genetic risk for hypertension was associated with decreased sensitivity for blood donation venipuncture pain and electric shock, but not for menstrual pain or the cold pressor test. These findings provide modest support for the notion that hypoalgesia is present in females at risk for hypertension. Issues for future research include extension of these findings to other pain stimuli, use of multiple indices of risk, assessment of the effects of cyclic hormonal changes on the relationship between pain sensitivity and risk for hypertension, and further study of the mechanisms and pathophysiological implications of this effect.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.28804 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Krywiak, Janis L. (Janis Lori) |
| Contributors | Ditto, Blaine (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001447504, proquestno: NN05735, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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