RESUMO
Research has developed a concrete link between psychological/emotional stress and life-threatening diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Here we present a technique to assess the magnitude of stress from cholesterol variation number (CVN). This number is the difference between the highest and the lowest cholesterol concentrations that relates to the five hourly cholesterol measurements performed over a five hour span. Since cholesterol in serum arises from the liver, the CVN is equated with the fluctuations in hepatic biosynthesis. This relationship is explained on the basis of the rhythmic hormonal secretions associated with cholesterol biosynthesis. Whenever stress-induced aberrations in timing of hormonal secretions occur, CVN changes. Individuals with lower CVN would have overall better health than persons with higher CVN. Thus by utilizing CVN, physicians may be able to differentiate cardiovascular health of individuals with the same or very similar serum cholesterol concentrations.