ABSTRACT
Hypertension and cardiovascular diseases have been a major cause of death in the United States for over 40 years and account for 50 percent of all deaths (Blanchard, Martin, & Dubbert, 1988). Blanchard et al. point out that even though heart disease and stroke related mortality has declined by 48 percent over the last 20 years, cardiovascular disease accounts for more bed days than any other condition (Levy & Moskowitz, 1982). Perhaps this is why the effects of heart disease and hypertension on behavior (and vice versa) have received so much attention in the health psychology literature and in studies of aging and behavior.
