Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood Pressure

Previous research has demonstrated that elevated resting blood pressure is associated with a decreased perception of experimental pain. To assess this relationship in the context of clinical pain, postsurgical pain ratings were obtained from 159 men recovering from radical prostatectomy. Participant...

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Main Authors: Christopher R France, Joel Katz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 1999-01-01
Series:Pain Research and Management
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1999/460391
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author Christopher R France
Joel Katz
author_facet Christopher R France
Joel Katz
author_sort Christopher R France
collection DOAJ
description Previous research has demonstrated that elevated resting blood pressure is associated with a decreased perception of experimental pain. To assess this relationship in the context of clinical pain, postsurgical pain ratings were obtained from 159 men recovering from radical prostatectomy. Participants ranged in age from 46 to 75 years (Mean=61.9, SD=5.9), and on admission to the hospital had mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures of 134.2/79.9 mmHg (SD=19.2/10.2). Pain ratings were obtained at 24 h and 48 h postsurgery using the McGill Pain Questionnaire and Visual Analog Scales administered at rest and after standardized movement (VAS-M). Results of correlational analyses indicated that higher preoperative resting systolic blood pressure was associated with significantly lower VAS-M pain ratings at 24 h postsurgery and significantly lower ratings on all pain measures at 48 h postsurgery. The relationships between blood pressure and pain ratings were maintained even after controlling for individual differences in age, length of surgery and postsurgical self-administration of morphine. These results confirm and extend previous observations of decreased pain in individuals with elevated blood pressure and suggest that this effect persists despite access to morphine analgesia.
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spelling doaj-art-52687cdf8434437f87c44b02c4d6503e2025-08-20T02:05:42ZengWileyPain Research and Management1203-67651999-01-014210010310.1155/1999/460391Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood PressureChristopher R France0Joel Katz1Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USADepartment of Psychology, The Toronto Hospital, CanadaPrevious research has demonstrated that elevated resting blood pressure is associated with a decreased perception of experimental pain. To assess this relationship in the context of clinical pain, postsurgical pain ratings were obtained from 159 men recovering from radical prostatectomy. Participants ranged in age from 46 to 75 years (Mean=61.9, SD=5.9), and on admission to the hospital had mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures of 134.2/79.9 mmHg (SD=19.2/10.2). Pain ratings were obtained at 24 h and 48 h postsurgery using the McGill Pain Questionnaire and Visual Analog Scales administered at rest and after standardized movement (VAS-M). Results of correlational analyses indicated that higher preoperative resting systolic blood pressure was associated with significantly lower VAS-M pain ratings at 24 h postsurgery and significantly lower ratings on all pain measures at 48 h postsurgery. The relationships between blood pressure and pain ratings were maintained even after controlling for individual differences in age, length of surgery and postsurgical self-administration of morphine. These results confirm and extend previous observations of decreased pain in individuals with elevated blood pressure and suggest that this effect persists despite access to morphine analgesia.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1999/460391
spellingShingle Christopher R France
Joel Katz
Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood Pressure
Pain Research and Management
title Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood Pressure
title_full Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood Pressure
title_fullStr Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood Pressure
title_full_unstemmed Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood Pressure
title_short Postsurgical Pain Is Attenuated in Men with Elevated Presurgical Systolic Blood Pressure
title_sort postsurgical pain is attenuated in men with elevated presurgical systolic blood pressure
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1999/460391
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