In recent years, computer analysis of blood pressure and heart rate variability has allowed the identification of specific patterns in the fluctuations of these signals which reflect the effects of individual mechanisms involved in cardiovascular regulation. Based on the automatic assessment of these patterns, new and sensitive tools for evaluating the features of cardiovascular control have been developed. The application of these tools has led to a deeper understanding of cardiovascular regulation in daily life and to a quantitative assessment of the alterations in cardiovascular control mechanisms which may occur with ageing and in a variety of pathologic conditions.

Moreover, available experiment data seem also to support the clinical importance of the analysis of blood pressure and heart rate variability. Evidence has been provided that blood pressure and heart rate variability may have a prognostic value in cardiovascular disease such as acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and primary autonomic dysfunction.

Some of the above mentioned topics were addressed in two previous books published by IOS Press in this series. However, ongoing progress which characterises this field necessitates continuous updates in the methodology of blood pressure and heart rate signal analysis as well as in the biological interpretation of the results.

The aim of the present book is to review recent advancements in the development of new techniques for blood pressure and heart rate signal analysis, in the understanding of the physiological mechanisms responsible for heart rate and blood pressure variability, and, last but not least, in the clinical application of these techniques.

This volume includes contributions by leading experts in this area who took part in a dedicated workshop held in Florence on May 1995. We are confident that both the investigators and the clinicians working in this challenging field will find this book to be a useful reference for their professional activity.

M. Di Rienzo

G. Mancia

G. Parati

A. Pedotti

A. Zanchetti