This confirmed our suspicion that it was the act of communication, not just talking, that led to these changes. When I lectured on our research, I would ask volunteers to come up and talk on any subject, while a computer monitor displayed their blood-pressure changes on a screen. One young physician announced proudly that he jogged five miles a day and would surely beat the machine - then turned in disbelief as he heard the audience laugh, and saw his blood pressure shoot up whenever he spoke. For people like Ed who were hypertensive, the rise caused by talking was much greater than for healthy people - often well into the danger zone. After all, most do not drop dead dur ing social encounters.
Most normal talk is a seesaw.
The rising of blood pressure when one talks is balanced by a rapid lowering of pressure when one listens. But the rhythm is out of sync in hypertensives. So their pressure stays up. When a dog hears a sound or sees movement, it will stop all activity and cock its head. Another Russian scientist, E. N. Sokolov, noticed that the dog's heart rate slows.