International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy

Formation of beliefs about false symptoms in patients with hypertension

Volume 5 Num. 2 - July 2005 - Pages 169-192

Authors:

Genoveva Granados Gámez and Jesús Gil Roales-Nieto ,

jgil@ual.es

Abstract:

Hypertension is a major health problem and adherence to treatment is a critical factor for patients with this health condition. Noncompliance has been identified as the predominant reason for failure of hypertension therapy. Although it is generally assumed to be a silent disease and health professionals believe that blood pressure is asymptomatic, many hypertensives patients are confident that they experience specific symptoms and emotions that help them to detect their BP levels. Therefore patients’ acceptance of medical advice and information may be influenced by their beliefs about their health condition. Research in this area shows that many patients report symptoms and seem to be aware of their blood pressure. So, patients that develop erroneous beliefs concerning specific symptoms that help them to detect their blood pressure change, usually are hardly influenced by contrary information. This beliefs results in the estimation of blood pressure based in symptoms perceived that may include interoceptive cues originates from various sources. This review showed it is essential that their beliefs be taken into account when giving health advice or medical treatment to hypertensive patients. Results also show that these erroneous beliefs need to be eliminated in order to improve compliance with medical prescriptions and the control of the disease. Research on blood pressure discrimination and discrimination training based on knowledge of results generally has not been very successful in the laboratory and need to be explore in natural settings

Key words:

Hypertension, Adherence, Beliefs, Symptoms

Full Article

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