JOINT USSR-USA BEHAVIORAL HYPERTENSION TREATMENT STUDY

这项研究将在两个地点联合进行：奥尔巴尼的纽约州立大学奥尔巴尼分校，

This study will be jointly conducted at two sites: SUNY-Albany in Albany, NY, and the USSR Cardiology Research Center in Moscow, USSR. At each site 30 males with mild hypertension will be randomly assigned to receive either (1) Temperature Biofeedback, an American procedure, or (2) Autogenic Training, a Soviet procedure, or (3) instructions to practice relaxation regularly on their own. Identical Pre-Treatment, Post-Treatment and Follow-Up (over 12 months) assessments will be conducted at each site utilizing psychological and physiological testing as well as physical examinations. The study will thus seek to learn if behavioral treatments for hypertension can be exported across cultures, from the USSR to the USA and vice versa. At a more basic level, the study will seek to learn if non-pharmacological therapies can be used in place of drug therapy for mild hypertension. Secondary purposes of the study include the controlled evaluation of temperature biofeedback as a treatment for mild hypertension and, at the American site, possible identification of biochemical mechanisms underlying changes in blood pressure resulting from behavioral treatments.