ABSTRACT
One of the most active areas in psychosomatic research has focused on cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress. The underlying assumption of this research is that excessive cardiovascular responses to stress play a role in the development of hypertension and CHD. Although this “reactivity hypothesis” has created some controversy (Pickering & Gerin, 1990), many researchers agree that the supporting evidence is strong and viable (e.g., Light, Sherwood, & Turner, 1992; Manuck, Kasprowicz, & Muldoon, 1990). We begin this chapter with the definition of cardiovascular reactivity, followed by a summary of what we currently know about its diagnostic and prognostic validity. Because studies to date have focused mainly on men, very little is known about the role of excessive cardiovascular reactivity in hypertension and heart disease among women. The second part of this chapter briefly discusses cardiovascular reactivity testing among women and presents the reactivity test protocol from the Swedish Study of Women with Coronary Heart Disease (also see chapter 3 by Orth-Gomér, this volume).
