Methods and apparatus are provided for determining individual responses to induced and actual mental stress and for identifying individuals susceptible to detrimental effects of mental stress on the cardiovascular system. The subjects may be at risk for chronic effects of mental stress by virtue of synergistic effects of mental stress and cardiovascular (CV) disease risk factors) or may be at risk, or vulnerable to, acute effects of mental stress by virtue of synergistic effects of mental stress and underlying hidden coronary atherosclerosis. The invention further provides methods and apparatus for assessing vascular reactivity in individuals under ambulatory conditions and relating mental stress responses to vascular reactivity.
Methods and Apparatus for Profiling Cardiovascular Vulnerability to Mental Stress