Relationship of Trait, Type A Behavior, and Physical Fitness Variables to Cardiovascular Reactivity and Coronary Heart Disease Risk Potential

Abstract

Purpose. This research investigated the effects of individual characteristics on cardiovascular reactivity, and in turn on the potential for developing coronary heart disease. Design. Path analysis was performed using LISREL, a structural equation modeling program providing maximum likelihood estimators and goodness-of-fit measures. Setting. Data were collected during a health assessment program, from participants attending a Department of Defense senior service school. Subjects. Participants were 134 senior-ranking male military and civilian employee volunteers, representing approximately 84 % of all students in training. Measures. Five individual characteristics, four measures of cardiovascular reactivity, and one coronary heart disease risk potential variable were investigated. These included Physical Fitness, Type A behavior, Trait Anger and Trait Anxiety, Diastolic and Systolic Blood Pressure measures, and Coronary Heart Disease Risk. Results. Significant path coefficients (critical ratios > 2) indicated that the mean diastolic blood pressure under a video stress condition was predictive of increased potential of developing coronary heart disease (.51), while hard driving Type A behavior was a cardiovascular reactivity antecedent associated with an increase in coronary heart disease risk directly (.14) and indirectly (.39). Physical fitness, on the other hand, had a positive affect in that increased fitness was related to lower cardiovascular reactivity when participants were stressed (−.58). Conclusions. Physical fitness is indirectly beneficial in reducing coronary heart disease risk potential by reducing an individual's diastolic blood pressure response, while scoring high as a Type A Hard Driving personality increases cardiovascular reactivity and coronary heart disease risk. This study is limited to middle-aged males who were generally healthy and displayed concern for their health.