Laboratory-induced mental stress, cardiovascular response, and psychological characteristics

Abstract

Vulnerable populations, such as firefighters and patients with coronary artery disease, are susceptible to mental stress-induced cardiac events, including death. Mental stress tests are widely applied to investigate the mechanisms linking psychological stress to cardiovascular consequences and to predict the risk of death in those susceptible populations. However, some aspects of mental stress tests have not been thoroughly understood, which impairs their reliability and validity as a research and clinical tool. This review identifies types of mental stress tests applied in recent research and the exact cardiovascular responses induced by each mental stress test, along with the consideration of the influence of psychological characteristics on cardiovascular reactivity.