Ditto Blaine, Lewkowski Maxim D, Rainville Pierre, Duncan Gary H
Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Dr Penfield Ave, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada.
Biol Psychol. 2009 Oct;82(2):195-197. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.07.009. Epub 2009 Jul 29.
Cardiopulmonary baroreceptor stimulation may modulate pain, though the literature is much smaller than research showing that sinoaortic baroreceptor stimulation can buffer pain. To examine the possibility that risk for established high blood pressure may moderate the effects of cardiopulmonary baroreceptor stimulation on pain, 22 borderline hypertensive and 18 normotensive men participated in a laboratory experiment. Group differences in blood pressure were documented by 24-h ambulatory blood pressure recording. Ratings of the intensity of acute heat pain were influenced by both group membership and leg position. Passive elevation of the legs, a technique that stimulates cardiopulmonary baroreceptors, reduced ratings of heat pain though only among borderline hypertensives. Alteration of pain sensitivity may reflect the development of the hypertensive process.
