Psychoemotional stress tests and prospects for their use in cardiology
Sidorenko, G.I.; Frolov, A.V.; Vorob'ev, A.P.
Kardiologiia 44(6): 59-64
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-9040 PMID: 15211347 Document Number: 571021
Social and economic transformations of the society enable to suggest an ever increasing role of psychoemotional factors in the development of cardiovascular pathology. The paper contains a review of psychoemotional functional stress tests (arithmetic, speech, information, computer games). Stroop-testing method, which over the recent half of a century has been acknowledged as <<gold standard>>, is described in detail. Criteria for assessment of psychoemotional stress tests, including ECG and blood pressure dynamics, echocardiography, heart rate variability etc., are also described. Method for quantitative evaluation of effectiveness of psychoemotional Stroop-testing from the positions of information theory is suggested. The method is based on correlations between physiological response and flow of information being processed (bit/s).