Clinical applications of cardiovascular assessment.

Cardiovascular measures are central to clinical psychophysiology. This article briefly describes the range of measures typically recorded in the laboratory and field. Laboratory testing procedures are outlined, and the theoretical bases for the selection of mental stress tests and the reliability of responses are discussed. New developments in the analysis of laboratory and ambulatory cardiovascular measures are described, including autoregressive modeling, power spectrum analysis, and other measures of variability. Applications of cardiovascular measures to the investigation, assessment, and management of essential hypertension, coronary heart disease, Raynaud's phenomenon, anxiety, fear, and panic are reviewed. Major contributions have already been made by psychophysiologists, and the incorporation of these methods into clinical practice is recommended. The scope of clinical cardiovascular psychophysiology may be expanded considerably over the next decade if investigators are able to capitalize on innovations in measurement and analysis technologies.