Problem solving strategies and abilities in normotensive subjects

It is well known that hypertensive patients demonstrate difficulties in performing cognitive tasks. Specifically, they showed a poor performance in both vigilance and words identification tasks when compared with normotensive subjects. In addition, we found less Problem Solving (PS) abilities in hypertensives with respect to normotensives. It has been also observed an inverse relationship between PS abilities and health problems, including hypertension; it appears therefore useful to estimate the relationship between PS style blood Pressure (BP) levels and variability in normotensive people. Results indicate that people who are inclined to use PS strategies characterized by Active Experimentation rather than by Reflecting Observation show greater pressure variability and greater HR levels and, therefore, would seem more subject to cardiovascular risk.