Researchers at Concordia University have discovered a new predictor of stress- heartbeats. They say heartbeats can help predict a person's ability to handle stress.

"When you're facing a real threat in your life, a regular heartbeat helps you deal with the situation. If you encounter a lion in the jungle, you want your heartbeat to stay at consistently high levels so that you can run away as fast as you can," psychology professor Jean-Philippe Gouin said in a statement. "But if your body shows the same reaction when you worry about something that may or may not happen - like failing an exam - then you might be more susceptible to stress.

For the study, researchers tracked 76 university students' moods during periods of lower stress at the beginning of term and higher stress during exam times. They also recorded participants' heart rate variability during their relaxation periods and at times when they were worrying or stressed out.

Researchers found that although all students experienced similar challenges during finals, only some of them developed significant distress. Those who displayed a less variable heartbeat when they started worrying were more likely to be highly stressed later on, when faced with final exams.

"By pinpointing those in the general population who are most vulnerable to stress, we can intervene before they hit the breaking point - and hopefully prevent the negative consequences of stress by doing so. That's why it's important to have an objective diagnostic tool like this one," Gouin said.

The finding of the study was published in the journal Stress.