In six pages the relationship between heart disease and environmental stressors are examined with stress defined and then applied to a cardiovascular reactivity assessment. Five sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: AM2_PPhrtRe2.rtf
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can be definitively linked to specific physiological parameters. Etiologically, in fact, very specific factors can be said to be highly conducive to cardiovascular problems. These factors include both
biological and environmental considerations but the reaction of a specific individual to either may vary tremendously. This variation is often better understood in terms of "cardiac reactivity". The
term "cardiac reactivity" is used in the general sense to denote the variability to which the cardiovascular system (both the heart and the vasculature) responds to various stressors (Turner, 1994).
DeFrank and Ivancevich (1998) define stress as being an: "adaptive response, moderated
by individual differences, that is a consequence of any action, situation, or event, that places special demands on a person".
Although targeted more towards sociological considerations of stress, this definition emphasizes the individual response to stress, an important consideration when considering cardiac reactivity.
Stress is, in fact, a reaction; not the event or situation which causes the reaction (DeFrank and Ivancevich, 1998). Stressors, on the other hand are the event or
situation which leads to certain physiological changes or reactions. Stressors can be both physical and mental, they move the heart cardiovascular
system through the range of its metabolic activity from baseline conditions experienced during quite rest and sleep to the heightened conditions experienced during maximal exercise (Turner, 1994). In other
words: "cardiovascular reactivity is usually understood to reflect the physiologic changes from a resting or