Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Stress and Disease

Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Stress and Disease brings the specialist up-to-date by taking a hard look at the cardiovascular reactivity hypothesis.

The contributors, leading scholars in the field, examine the evidence linking hypertension and cardiovascular disease found in both animal and human research. Contributors also explore arguments and data on the complexity of cardiovascular response and on the need to examine patterns of physiological responses over time. In addition, state-of-the-art technology used in reactivity research (e.g., impedance cardiography and radionuclide ventriculography) are discussed and evaluated.

For researchers and specialists in health psychology, behavioral medicine, or psychophysiology, Cardiovascular Reactivity will be an essential reference on correlations between psychological stress and disease.

This softcover edition is a re-release of the 1993 hardcover edition.

List of Contributors

Preface

I. Reactivity and Coronary Heart Disease

1. Psychosocial Influences on Atherosclerosis: Evidence for Effects and Mechanisms in Nonhuman Primates
   —Jay R. Kaplan, Stephen B. Manuck, J. Koudy Williams, and William Strawn
2. Psychological Stress Testing for Coronary Heart Disease
   —Jim Blascovich and Edward S. Katkin

II. Reactivity and Hypertension

3. Biobehavioral Stressors, Laboratory Investigation, and the Risk of Hypertension
   —Patrice G. Saab and Neil Schneiderman
4. A Biopsychosocial Model of Race Differences in Vascular Reactivity
   —Norman B. Anderson, Maya McNeilly, and Hector Myers

III. Patterns of Cardiovascular Reactivity

5. Stability and Patterning of Behaviorally Evoked Cardiovascular Reactivity
   —Stephen B. Manuck, Thomas W. Kamarck, Alfred S. Kasprowicz, and Shari R. Waldstein
6. Habituation of Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Stress: Evidence and Implications
   —Robert M. Kelsey

IV. Technology

7. Use of Impedance Cardiography in Cardiovascular Reactivity Research
   —Andrew Sherwood
8. Use of Ambulatory Monitoring of Left Ventricular Function With the VEST
   —David S. Kayden and John W. Burns
9. A Low-Tech Approach to Cardiac Reactivity: Psychophysiological Differentiation Using Heart Rate, T-Wave Amplitude, and Skin Conductance Level
   —John J. Furedy

VI. Assessment of the Research

10. Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Stress and Disease: Conclusions
    —Jim Blascovich and Edward S. Katkin

Index

About the Editors

Jim Blascovich is a former director of the Center for the Study of Behavioral and Social Aspects of Health at the State University of New York at Buffalo and an associate professor of psychology there. He received his PhD in social psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1972. His research interests focus on the social psychophysiology of arousal and its regulation. He has been active in professional affairs, having served on the committee that drafted The Human Capital Initiative. He is currently executive officer of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (Division 8 of the American Psychological Association).

Edward S. Katkin is a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Duke University in 1963. His research interests focus on the psychophysiology of emotion and on psychological factors in physical disorders. He has published extensively in the areas of psychophysiology and behavioral medicine. Dr. Katkin is a past president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a charter fellow of the American Psychological Society.