The Impact of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate in a Veteran Population

Hyperarousal is a hallmark of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD has been associated with increased blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) in veteran populations. We retrospectively identified male patients consulted to outpatient psychiatry at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Patients were divided into PTSD (n = 88) and non‐PTSD (n = 98) groups. All PTSD patients and a subset of non‐PTSD patients had documented blast exposure during service. The study investigated whether patients with PTSD had higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) than patients without PTSD. The effect of trauma exposure on BP was also examined. Mean SBP (133.8 vs. 122.3 mm Hg; p < .001), DBP (87.6 vs. 78.6 mm Hg; p < .001), and HR (78.9 vs. 73.1 bpm; p < .001) were all significantly higher in the PTSD group. Trauma‐exposed patients without PTSD had significantly higher BP than nonexposed patients. The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) was 34.1% (diagnosed and undiagnosed) among PTSD patients. Patients with PTSD had higher BP and HR compared to patients without PTSD. Trauma exposure may increase BP in this population. These findings will increase awareness about the cardiovascular implications of PTSD. Traditional and Simplified Chinese s by AsianSTSS 標題：創傷後壓力症對退役軍人血壓和心跳的影響 撮要：過度警覺是創傷後壓力症(PTSD)的特徵。在退役軍人中，PTSD與血壓(BP)高和心跳(HR)快有關連。本硏究回顧了愛荷華市退役軍人醫療系統中精神科門診的男性求診人士，其中有PTSD病者及一部份非PTSD病者均在服役時有爆炸經歷。本文旨在硏究PTSD患者會否比非PTSD患者有較高收縮期血壓(SBP)，舒張期血壓(DBP)及心跳(HR)。創傷經歷對血壓的影響也在硏究之列。PTSD組別都有統計上明顯較高的平均SBP(133.8 vs 122.3mmHg; P