diff --git a/docs/api/openapi.yaml b/docs/api/openapi.yaml
index f424cf858..14d3a2fe2 100644
--- a/docs/api/openapi.yaml
+++ b/docs/api/openapi.yaml
@@ -20279,6 +20279,10 @@ components:
           anyOf:
             - type: number
             - type: "null"
+        adverseCoverageDays:
+          type: integer
+          minimum: -9007199254740991
+          maximum: 9007199254740991
         feltBetterDay:
           anyOf:
             - type: string
@@ -20293,6 +20297,7 @@ components:
         - nadir
         - returns
         - recoveryGapDays
+        - adverseCoverageDays
         - feltBetterDay
         - redFlags
       additionalProperties: false
@@ -20429,6 +20434,10 @@ components:
             type: integer
             minimum: -9007199254740991
             maximum: 9007199254740991
+        gapDriverType:
+          anyOf:
+            - type: string
+            - type: "null"
       required:
         - windowDays
         - episodeCount
@@ -20437,10 +20446,12 @@ components:
         - gapSampleSize
         - byMonth
         - byType
+        - gapDriverType
       additionalProperties: false
       description: "Cross-episode retrospective summary over the trailing window: episode + resolved counts, the typical
-        (median) recovery gap (null below the min-sample floor — withholds a thin claim), a recurrence-by-month tally,
-        and a per-type breakdown. Retrospective only."
+        (median) recovery gap (null below the min-sample floor — withholds a thin claim), a recurrence-by-month tally, a
+        per-type breakdown, and the dominant driving vital (`gapDriverType`, null when no gap is surfaced).
+        Retrospective only."
     DisclaimerAckEnvelope:
       type: object
       properties:
diff --git a/messages/de.json b/messages/de.json
index 6674ca67f..c15520593 100644
--- a/messages/de.json
+++ b/messages/de.json
@@ -6880,6 +6880,7 @@
       "countOne": "Du hast in diesem Zeitraum 1 Episode erfasst.",
       "countOther": "Du hast in diesem Zeitraum {count} Episoden erfasst.",
       "typicalGap": "Typische Erholungslücke: {days} Tage zwischen Besserung und normalisierten Werten.",
+      "typicalGapWithDriver": "Typische Erholungslücke: {days} Tage – du fühlst dich meist besser, bevor sich {vital} normalisiert.",
       "typicalGapLearning": "Noch ein paar abgeschlossene Episoden und hier erscheint eine typische Erholungslücke.",
       "none": "In diesem Zeitraum keine Episoden erfasst.",
       "analyze": "Erholungslücke analysieren"
diff --git a/messages/en.json b/messages/en.json
index 2f753c94a..4ad161b92 100644
--- a/messages/en.json
+++ b/messages/en.json
@@ -6880,6 +6880,7 @@
       "countOne": "You logged 1 episode in this period.",
       "countOther": "You logged {count} episodes in this period.",
       "typicalGap": "Typical recovery gap: {days} days between feeling better and your numbers settling.",
+      "typicalGapWithDriver": "Typical recovery gap: {days} days — you tend to feel better before your {vital} settles.",
       "typicalGapLearning": "A few more resolved episodes and a typical recovery gap will appear here.",
       "none": "No episodes logged in this period.",
       "analyze": "Analyse the recovery gap"
diff --git a/messages/es.json b/messages/es.json
index ff16bdc8f..66d9d2421 100644
--- a/messages/es.json
+++ b/messages/es.json
@@ -6880,6 +6880,7 @@
       "countOne": "Registraste 1 episodio en este período.",
       "countOther": "Registraste {count} episodios en este período.",
       "typicalGap": "Brecha de recuperación típica: {days} días entre sentirte mejor y la estabilización de tus valores.",
+      "typicalGapWithDriver": "Brecha de recuperación típica: {days} días: sueles sentirte mejor antes de que {vital} se estabilice.",
       "typicalGapLearning": "Con unos pocos episodios resueltos más aparecerá aquí una brecha de recuperación típica.",
       "none": "Sin episodios registrados en este período.",
       "analyze": "Analizar la brecha de recuperación"
diff --git a/messages/fr.json b/messages/fr.json
index a3c2c476c..608aef1a6 100644
--- a/messages/fr.json
+++ b/messages/fr.json
@@ -6880,6 +6880,7 @@
       "countOne": "Tu as enregistré 1 épisode sur cette période.",
       "countOther": "Tu as enregistré {count} épisodes sur cette période.",
       "typicalGap": "Écart de récupération typique : {days} jours entre le mieux-être et la stabilisation de tes valeurs.",
+      "typicalGapWithDriver": "Écart de récupération typique : {days} jours – tu te sens généralement mieux avant que {vital} ne se stabilise.",
       "typicalGapLearning": "Encore quelques épisodes résolus et un écart de récupération typique apparaîtra ici.",
       "none": "Aucun épisode enregistré sur cette période.",
       "analyze": "Analyser l'écart de récupération"
diff --git a/messages/it.json b/messages/it.json
index 3e512e59b..226eaebb0 100644
--- a/messages/it.json
+++ b/messages/it.json
@@ -6880,6 +6880,7 @@
       "countOne": "Hai registrato 1 episodio in questo periodo.",
       "countOther": "Hai registrato {count} episodi in questo periodo.",
       "typicalGap": "Divario di recupero tipico: {days} giorni tra il sentirti meglio e la stabilizzazione dei valori.",
+      "typicalGapWithDriver": "Divario di recupero tipico: {days} giorni: di solito ti senti meglio prima che {vital} si stabilizzi.",
       "typicalGapLearning": "Ancora qualche episodio risolto e qui apparirà un divario di recupero tipico.",
       "none": "Nessun episodio registrato in questo periodo.",
       "analyze": "Analizza il divario di recupero"
diff --git a/messages/pl.json b/messages/pl.json
index 9709e45af..4853b2972 100644
--- a/messages/pl.json
+++ b/messages/pl.json
@@ -6880,6 +6880,7 @@
       "countOne": "W tym okresie zapisałeś 1 epizod.",
       "countOther": "W tym okresie zapisałeś {count} epizodów.",
       "typicalGap": "Typowa luka rekonwalescencji: {days} dni między poprawą a ustabilizowaniem wartości.",
+      "typicalGapWithDriver": "Typowa luka rekonwalescencji: {days} dni – zwykle czujesz się lepiej, zanim {vital} się ustabilizuje.",
       "typicalGapLearning": "Jeszcze kilka zakończonych epizodów i pojawi się tu typowa luka rekonwalescencji.",
       "none": "Brak epizodów zapisanych w tym okresie.",
       "analyze": "Przeanalizuj lukę rekonwalescencji"
diff --git a/src/app/api/illness/insights/route.ts b/src/app/api/illness/insights/route.ts
index 1e47c0482..0e31fb6d3 100644
--- a/src/app/api/illness/insights/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/illness/insights/route.ts
@@ -85,7 +85,11 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
   // out of the typical-gap median by the aggregate's signal-density gates.
   const gapById = new Map<
     string,
-    { recoveryGapDays: number | null; gapMeasurementDays: number }
+    {
+      recoveryGapDays: number | null;
+      gapMeasurementDays: number;
+      gapReturnTypes: string[];
+    }
   >();
   if (includeRecoveryGap) {
     const gapCandidates = rows
@@ -98,7 +102,11 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
           async (): Promise<
             [
               string,
-              { recoveryGapDays: number | null; gapMeasurementDays: number },
+              {
+                recoveryGapDays: number | null;
+                gapMeasurementDays: number;
+                gapReturnTypes: string[];
+              },
             ]
           > => {
             const derived = await computeEpisodeCorrelation(
@@ -119,9 +127,26 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
                   derived.status === "ok"
                     ? derived.value.recoveryGapDays
                     : null,
-                // `historyDays` = distinct episode days with a banded vital,
-                // present on both the `ok` and `insufficient` arms.
-                gapMeasurementDays: derived.coverage.historyDays,
+                // Qualifying-days floor: distinct episode days carrying an
+                // ADVERSE-direction banded reading — NOT raw coverage
+                // (`historyDays` counts ANY banded vital, so a WEIGHT-only
+                // episode with no illness-adverse signal could otherwise clear
+                // the floor and tip the typical-gap median). Only the `ok` arm
+                // ever contributes a gap; the `insufficient` arm's gap is null,
+                // so 0 here is correct (it never reaches the median anyway).
+                gapMeasurementDays:
+                  derived.status === "ok"
+                    ? derived.value.adverseCoverageDays
+                    : 0,
+                // The vitals that produced a real physiological return —
+                // tallied across the qualifying episodes to name the dominant
+                // driving vital in the summary copy.
+                gapReturnTypes:
+                  derived.status === "ok"
+                    ? derived.value.returns
+                        .filter((r) => r.gapDays !== null)
+                        .map((r) => String(r.type))
+                    : [],
               },
             ];
           },
@@ -140,6 +165,7 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
       resolved: r.resolvedAt !== null,
       recoveryGapDays: gap?.recoveryGapDays ?? null,
       gapMeasurementDays: gap?.gapMeasurementDays ?? 0,
+      gapReturnTypes: gap?.gapReturnTypes ?? [],
       lifecycle: r.lifecycle,
     };
   });
@@ -152,6 +178,7 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
       episode_count: summary.episodeCount,
       gap_sample_size: summary.gapSampleSize,
       typical_gap_days: summary.typicalRecoveryGapDays,
+      gap_driver_type: summary.gapDriverType,
       include_recovery_gap: includeRecoveryGap,
     },
   });
diff --git a/src/components/illness/illness-insights-card.tsx b/src/components/illness/illness-insights-card.tsx
index 15ea9f02f..86beede7a 100644
--- a/src/components/illness/illness-insights-card.tsx
+++ b/src/components/illness/illness-insights-card.tsx
@@ -87,13 +87,22 @@ export function IllnessInsightsCard({
               <p className="text-muted-foreground">
                 {t("illness.insights.typicalGapLearning")}
               </p>
+            ) : gap.data.typicalRecoveryGapDays === null ? (
+              <p className="text-muted-foreground">
+                {t("illness.insights.typicalGapLearning")}
+              </p>
+            ) : gap.data.gapDriverType ? (
+              <p className="text-muted-foreground">
+                {t("illness.insights.typicalGapWithDriver", {
+                  days: gap.data.typicalRecoveryGapDays,
+                  vital: t(`illness.vital.${gap.data.gapDriverType}`),
+                })}
+              </p>
             ) : (
               <p className="text-muted-foreground">
-                {gap.data.typicalRecoveryGapDays !== null
-                  ? t("illness.insights.typicalGap", {
-                      days: gap.data.typicalRecoveryGapDays,
-                    })
-                  : t("illness.insights.typicalGapLearning")}
+                {t("illness.insights.typicalGap", {
+                  days: gap.data.typicalRecoveryGapDays,
+                })}
               </p>
             )}
           </div>
diff --git a/src/components/illness/types.ts b/src/components/illness/types.ts
index 6526f22e4..6bda26316 100644
--- a/src/components/illness/types.ts
+++ b/src/components/illness/types.ts
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ export interface IllnessCorrelationValue {
   nadir: IllnessVitalDeviation[];
   returns: IllnessVitalReturn[];
   recoveryGapDays: number | null;
+  adverseCoverageDays: number;
   feltBetterDay: string | null;
   redFlags: IllnessRedFlag[];
 }
@@ -148,4 +149,5 @@ export interface IllnessInsightsResponse {
   gapSampleSize: number;
   byMonth: Record<string, number>;
   byType: Record<string, number>;
+  gapDriverType: string | null;
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/illness/__tests__/correlation.test.ts b/src/lib/illness/__tests__/correlation.test.ts
index f9941c81d..e3366fe99 100644
--- a/src/lib/illness/__tests__/correlation.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/illness/__tests__/correlation.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ import type { MeasurementType } from "@/generated/prisma/client";
 import {
   computeIllnessCorrelation,
   dayDiff,
+  isAdverseDeviation,
   MIN_BASELINE_DAYS,
+  MIN_EPISODE_COVERAGE_DAYS,
   type IllnessCorrelationInput,
   type VitalDayPoint,
 } from "../correlation";
@@ -431,6 +433,102 @@ describe("computeIllnessCorrelation — red-flag escalation", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("isAdverseDeviation", () => {
+  it("pins per-metric adverse direction (up for RHR, down for HRV)", () => {
+    expect(isAdverseDeviation("RESTING_HEART_RATE", "above")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isAdverseDeviation("RESTING_HEART_RATE", "below")).toBe(false);
+    expect(isAdverseDeviation("HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY", "below")).toBe(true);
+    expect(isAdverseDeviation("HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY", "above")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("treats neutral-direction vitals (WEIGHT) as never adverse", () => {
+    expect(isAdverseDeviation("WEIGHT", "above")).toBe(false);
+    expect(isAdverseDeviation("WEIGHT", "below")).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("computeIllnessCorrelation — adverse-coverage qualifying floor", () => {
+  it("counts only days with a notable ADVERSE-direction reading", () => {
+    // RHR (up = adverse) spikes out-of-band on 3 distinct active days, then
+    // settles. Those 3 days — and only those — count toward the floor.
+    const type: MeasurementType = "RESTING_HEART_RATE";
+    const baselineDays = jitteredBaseline(55, 1, 21, "2026-01-02");
+    const episodeDays: VitalDayPoint[] = [
+      { day: "2026-01-10", mean: 75 }, // adverse spike
+      { day: "2026-01-11", mean: 74 }, // adverse spike
+      { day: "2026-01-12", mean: 73 }, // adverse spike
+      { day: "2026-01-15", mean: 55 }, // in band
+      { day: "2026-01-16", mean: 55 },
+      { day: "2026-01-17", mean: 55 },
+    ];
+    const out = computeIllnessCorrelation(
+      input({ series: [{ type, baselineDays, episodeDays }] }),
+    );
+    expect(out.status).toBe("ok");
+    if (out.status !== "ok") return;
+    expect(out.value.adverseCoverageDays).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  it("does NOT count a WEIGHT-only (no adverse direction) episode toward the floor", () => {
+    // WEIGHT has no illness-adverse direction. Even with plenty of out-of-band
+    // WEIGHT days (so raw coverage `historyDays` clears the engine floor), the
+    // adverse-coverage floor stays 0 — a WEIGHT-only episode must not feed the
+    // cross-episode typical-gap median.
+    const type: MeasurementType = "WEIGHT";
+    const baselineDays = jitteredBaseline(80, 1, 21, "2026-01-02");
+    const episodeDays: VitalDayPoint[] = [
+      { day: "2026-01-10", mean: 90 }, // far out of band, but neutral direction
+      { day: "2026-01-11", mean: 91 },
+      { day: "2026-01-12", mean: 92 },
+      { day: "2026-01-13", mean: 70 }, // out of band the other way — still neutral
+      { day: "2026-01-14", mean: 69 },
+    ];
+    const out = computeIllnessCorrelation(
+      input({ series: [{ type, baselineDays, episodeDays }] }),
+    );
+    // Coverage clears the engine floor (5 banded days) so the engine returns ok…
+    expect(out.status).toBe("ok");
+    if (out.status !== "ok") return;
+    expect(out.coverage.historyDays).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(
+      MIN_EPISODE_COVERAGE_DAYS,
+    );
+    // …but NO day counts toward the adverse-coverage qualifying floor.
+    expect(out.value.adverseCoverageDays).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores a non-adverse-direction move on an adverse-typed vital", () => {
+    // RHR is up-adverse. A big DROP (below band) is notable but NOT adverse, so
+    // it must not count toward the floor. Pair with a banded neutral vital to
+    // clear the engine coverage floor without adding adverse days.
+    const rhr: MeasurementType = "RESTING_HEART_RATE";
+    const weight: MeasurementType = "WEIGHT";
+    const out = computeIllnessCorrelation(
+      input({
+        series: [
+          {
+            type: rhr,
+            baselineDays: jitteredBaseline(55, 1, 21, "2026-01-02"),
+            episodeDays: [
+              { day: "2026-01-10", mean: 40 }, // far BELOW band — not adverse for RHR
+              { day: "2026-01-11", mean: 41 },
+              { day: "2026-01-12", mean: 55 },
+              { day: "2026-01-13", mean: 55 },
+            ],
+          },
+          {
+            type: weight,
+            baselineDays: jitteredBaseline(80, 1, 21, "2026-01-02"),
+            episodeDays: flatBaseline(80, 5, "2026-01-15"),
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(out.status).toBe("ok");
+    if (out.status !== "ok") return;
+    expect(out.value.adverseCoverageDays).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("computeIllnessCorrelation — return anchor", () => {
   it("never reports a return BEFORE the first deviation (no spurious gap)", () => {
     // The vital is IN BAND for the first 4 active days (the run-up), then
diff --git a/src/lib/illness/__tests__/retrospective.test.ts b/src/lib/illness/__tests__/retrospective.test.ts
index 878072f52..f9dc38125 100644
--- a/src/lib/illness/__tests__/retrospective.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/illness/__tests__/retrospective.test.ts
@@ -131,6 +131,74 @@ describe("summarizeIllnessRetrospective", () => {
     expect(out.typicalRecoveryGapDays).toBeNull(); // …but the magnitude is noise
   });
 
+  it("names the dominant driving vital when a gap is surfaced", () => {
+    const out = summarizeIllnessRetrospective([
+      ep({
+        id: "a",
+        recoveryGapDays: 4,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["RESTING_HEART_RATE"],
+      }),
+      ep({
+        id: "b",
+        recoveryGapDays: 6,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["RESTING_HEART_RATE", "HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY"],
+      }),
+      ep({
+        id: "c",
+        recoveryGapDays: 5,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY"],
+      }),
+    ]);
+    // RHR returned in 2 of 3 episodes, HRV in 2 as well — tie → deterministic
+    // alphabetical resolution picks HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY.
+    expect(out.typicalRecoveryGapDays).toBe(5);
+    expect(out.gapDriverType).toBe("HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY");
+  });
+
+  it("picks the strictly-most-frequent driver", () => {
+    const out = summarizeIllnessRetrospective([
+      ep({
+        id: "a",
+        recoveryGapDays: 4,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["RESTING_HEART_RATE"],
+      }),
+      ep({
+        id: "b",
+        recoveryGapDays: 6,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["RESTING_HEART_RATE"],
+      }),
+      ep({
+        id: "c",
+        recoveryGapDays: 5,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY"],
+      }),
+    ]);
+    expect(out.gapDriverType).toBe("RESTING_HEART_RATE");
+  });
+
+  it("leaves the driver null when no gap is surfaced", () => {
+    const out = summarizeIllnessRetrospective([
+      ep({
+        id: "a",
+        recoveryGapDays: 0,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["RESTING_HEART_RATE"],
+      }),
+      ep({
+        id: "b",
+        recoveryGapDays: 1,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["RESTING_HEART_RATE"],
+      }),
+      ep({
+        id: "c",
+        recoveryGapDays: -1,
+        gapReturnTypes: ["RESTING_HEART_RATE"],
+      }),
+    ]);
+    // Magnitude gate withholds the gap → no driver is named.
+    expect(out.typicalRecoveryGapDays).toBeNull();
+    expect(out.gapDriverType).toBeNull();
+  });
+
   it("surfaces a negative gap once its magnitude clears the floor", () => {
     const out = summarizeIllnessRetrospective([
       ep({ id: "a", recoveryGapDays: -2 }),
diff --git a/src/lib/illness/correlation.ts b/src/lib/illness/correlation.ts
index 22f519670..ae8676a10 100644
--- a/src/lib/illness/correlation.ts
+++ b/src/lib/illness/correlation.ts
@@ -208,6 +208,24 @@ export interface VitalReturnFinding {
   gapDays: number | null;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Whether a banded reading is the illness-adverse move for its metric — a
+ * RISE for an "up"-adverse vital (resting HR, temperature, BP, …), a DROP for
+ * a "down"-adverse one (HRV, recovery, SpO2). The single adverse-direction
+ * predicate the engine reasons with; reused by the qualifying-days floor so a
+ * neutral-direction vital (WEIGHT, glucose) never counts a day toward it.
+ */
+export function isAdverseDeviation(
+  type: MeasurementType,
+  direction: "above" | "below",
+): boolean {
+  const adverseDir = ADVERSE_DIRECTION[type];
+  return (
+    (adverseDir === "up" && direction === "above") ||
+    (adverseDir === "down" && direction === "below")
+  );
+}
+
 export interface IllnessCorrelationValue {
   episodeId: string;
   /** "How did it announce itself" — notable pre-onset deviations. */
@@ -222,6 +240,15 @@ export interface IllnessCorrelationValue {
    * = the body lagged the felt-better marker.
    */
   recoveryGapDays: number | null;
+  /**
+   * Distinct episode days carrying at least one ADVERSE-direction banded
+   * reading (a vital moving the illness-adverse way for its metric). This is
+   * the qualifying-days floor the cross-episode aggregate gates the typical-
+   * gap median on — a WEIGHT-only (no adverse direction) episode contributes
+   * 0 here even when `coverage.historyDays` (any banded reading) is high, so
+   * an episode with no illness-relevant signal cannot tip the typical gap.
+   */
+  adverseCoverageDays: number;
   /** Felt-better marker echoed for the surface. */
   feltBetterDay: string | null;
   /**
@@ -279,10 +306,7 @@ function finding(
 ): VitalDeviationFinding {
   const sd = deviationSd(value, center, spread);
   const direction: "above" | "below" = sd >= 0 ? "above" : "below";
-  const adverseDir = ADVERSE_DIRECTION[type];
-  const adverse =
-    (adverseDir === "up" && direction === "above") ||
-    (adverseDir === "down" && direction === "below");
+  const adverse = isAdverseDeviation(type, direction);
   return {
     type,
     day,
@@ -364,6 +388,11 @@ export function computeIllnessCorrelation(
   const preOnset: VitalDeviationFinding[] = [];
   const nadir: VitalDeviationFinding[] = [];
   const returns: VitalReturnFinding[] = [];
+  // Distinct active-span days with at least one notable ADVERSE-direction
+  // banded reading. This — not raw `coverageDays` (any banded reading) — is
+  // the qualifying-days floor the cross-episode aggregate gates on, so a
+  // neutral-direction-only episode (e.g. WEIGHT) never feeds the typical gap.
+  const adverseDayKeys = new Set<string>();
 
   for (const { series, band } of banded) {
     const { type } = series;
@@ -396,6 +425,7 @@ export function computeIllnessCorrelation(
       const f = finding(type, p.day, p.mean, center, spread);
       if (Math.abs(f.deviationSd) >= NOTABLE_SD) {
         if (firstDeviationIndex === -1) firstDeviationIndex = i;
+        if (f.adverse) adverseDayKeys.add(p.day);
         if (
           worstActive === null ||
           Math.abs(f.deviationSd) > Math.abs(worstActive.deviationSd)
@@ -463,6 +493,7 @@ export function computeIllnessCorrelation(
       ),
       returns,
       recoveryGapDays,
+      adverseCoverageDays: adverseDayKeys.size,
       feltBetterDay: window.feltBetterDay,
       redFlags,
     },
diff --git a/src/lib/illness/retrospective.ts b/src/lib/illness/retrospective.ts
index ff93e92b0..8e01c45c4 100644
--- a/src/lib/illness/retrospective.ts
+++ b/src/lib/illness/retrospective.ts
@@ -62,6 +62,14 @@ export interface RetrospectiveEpisode {
    * the engine computed one. Absent/0 → does not qualify.
    */
   gapMeasurementDays?: number;
+  /**
+   * The vital metric types that produced a non-null physiological-return gap
+   * for this episode (the engine's `returns[]` filtered to a real return).
+   * Tallied across the qualifying episodes to name the dominant driving vital
+   * in the cross-episode summary ("felt better ~X days before resting heart
+   * rate settled"). Absent/empty → contributes no driver.
+   */
+  gapReturnTypes?: string[];
   /** Lifecycle — CHRONIC_ONGOING never contributes a gap. */
   lifecycle: string;
 }
@@ -87,6 +95,13 @@ export interface IllnessRetrospectiveSummary {
   byMonth: Record<number, number>;
   /** Per-type episode counts in the window (retrospective breakdown). */
   byType: Record<string, number>;
+  /**
+   * The dominant vital that drove the typical recovery gap — the metric type
+   * that most often produced a physiological return across the qualifying
+   * episodes — or null when no gap is surfaced or no vital clearly leads. The
+   * card names it ("…before resting heart rate settled"). Retrospective only.
+   */
+  gapDriverType: string | null;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -109,6 +124,10 @@ export function summarizeIllnessRetrospective(
   const byType: Record<string, number> = {};
   let resolvedCount = 0;
   const gaps: number[] = [];
+  // Tally of which vital produced a physiological return, across only the
+  // episodes that qualified for the typical-gap median — the dominant one
+  // names the driving vital in the card.
+  const driverTally: Record<string, number> = {};
 
   for (const e of episodes) {
     const month = Number(e.onsetDay.slice(5, 7));
@@ -124,6 +143,8 @@ export function summarizeIllnessRetrospective(
       (e.gapMeasurementDays ?? 0) >= MIN_GAP_MEASUREMENT_DAYS
     ) {
       gaps.push(e.recoveryGapDays);
+      for (const type of e.gapReturnTypes ?? [])
+        driverTally[type] = (driverTally[type] ?? 0) + 1;
     }
   }
 
@@ -139,6 +160,16 @@ export function summarizeIllnessRetrospective(
       ? medianGap
       : null;
 
+  // Name the driving vital only when a gap is actually surfaced — the most
+  // frequently-returning vital across the qualifying episodes. Ties resolve
+  // deterministically by metric name so the copy is stable across reads.
+  const gapDriverType =
+    typicalRecoveryGapDays !== null
+      ? (Object.entries(driverTally).sort((a, b) =>
+          b[1] !== a[1] ? b[1] - a[1] : a[0] < b[0] ? -1 : 1,
+        )[0]?.[0] ?? null)
+      : null;
+
   return {
     episodeCount: episodes.length,
     resolvedCount,
@@ -146,5 +177,6 @@ export function summarizeIllnessRetrospective(
     gapSampleSize: gaps.length,
     byMonth,
     byType,
+    gapDriverType,
   };
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/openapi/routes/illness.ts b/src/lib/openapi/routes/illness.ts
index 8759a005b..900f49119 100644
--- a/src/lib/openapi/routes/illness.ts
+++ b/src/lib/openapi/routes/illness.ts
@@ -208,6 +208,7 @@ const illnessCorrelationValue = z
     nadir: z.array(illnessVitalDeviation),
     returns: z.array(illnessVitalReturn),
     recoveryGapDays: z.number().nullable(),
+    adverseCoverageDays: z.number().int(),
     feltBetterDay: z.string().nullable(),
     redFlags: z.array(illnessRedFlag),
   })
@@ -252,11 +253,12 @@ const illnessInsightsResponse = z
     gapSampleSize: z.number().int(),
     byMonth: z.record(z.string(), z.number().int()),
     byType: z.record(z.string(), z.number().int()),
+    gapDriverType: z.string().nullable(),
   })
   .meta({
     id: "IllnessInsightsResponse",
     description:
-      "Cross-episode retrospective summary over the trailing window: episode + resolved counts, the typical (median) recovery gap (null below the min-sample floor — withholds a thin claim), a recurrence-by-month tally, and a per-type breakdown. Retrospective only.",
+      "Cross-episode retrospective summary over the trailing window: episode + resolved counts, the typical (median) recovery gap (null below the min-sample floor — withholds a thin claim), a recurrence-by-month tally, a per-type breakdown, and the dominant driving vital (`gapDriverType`, null when no gap is surfaced). Retrospective only.",
   });
 
 const episodeNotFound = {