A mammography apparatus includes a support plate for supporting a breast of a patient, a compression plate movable toward and away from the support plate for compressing the breast against the support plate, and a controller configured to control movement of the compression plate toward and away from the support plate. The controller is configured to adjust at least one of a rate of compression and a pressure applied to the breast based on a measurement of at least one of a diastolic pressure and a systolic pressure of the patient taken during at least one of a compression phase and a clamping phase of the mammography apparatus.
