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Does cardiac reactivity in the laboratory predict ambulatory heart rate? Baseline counts
Author(s) -
Schwerdtfeger Andreas R.,
Schienle Anne,
Leutgeb Verena,
Rathner EvaMaria
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.12199
Subject(s) - ambulatory , reactivity (psychology) , psychology , affect (linguistics) , psychosocial , heart rate , context (archaeology) , baseline (sea) , cardiology , medicine , developmental psychology , psychiatry , blood pressure , communication , paleontology , oceanography , alternative medicine , pathology , biology , geology
Cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stress might predict cardiovascular load in everyday life. However, previous research throws doubt on this hypothesis. This study examined associations between heart rate ( HR ) to a public speaking task and ambulatory HR throughout a day. Electrocardiogram, bodily movement, and psychosocial variables (affect, context) were recorded in 111 individuals. Ambulatory HR was positively associated with both positive and negative affect. Baseline HR in the laboratory significantly predicted ambulatory HR , but HR reactivity did not. The interaction of momentary negative affect and cardiac reactivity in the laboratory was also not significant. However, a significant interaction of baseline HR and reactivity indicated that, when baseline was high, there was a positive relation between HR reactivity and ambulatory HR . Findings suggest that baseline has to be considered when aiming to predict cardiovascular load in everyday life.