Enhanced psychophysiological responses of type A coronary patients during type A-relevant imagery

Abstract

This study used imagery instructions to examine cardiac patients' physiological responses to Type A-relevant situations. Twenty Type A and Type B patients, classified by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), were presented both "Type A" and "Neutral" imagery scripts, followed by the administration of the Structured Interview (SI). Subjects rated each scene for vividness and their emotional reaction to the image. Heart period, pulse transit time, finger temperature, finger pulse volume, frontalis EMG, neck EMG, forearm flexor EMG, and forearm extensor EMG were monitored throughout the experiment. Results showed that (a) Type A's had greater heart period and neck EMG responses to Type A scenes compared to Neutral scenes, (b) Type A's had faster pulse transit times and lower finger temperatures than Type B's throughout the imagery task and the SI, (c) both Type A's and Type B's rated Type A scenes as more emotionally arousing than Neutral scenes, and (d) although the pattern of results was the same when subjects were classified by the SI, results were no longer statistically significant.