Altered heart rate variability in panic disorder patients.
Resting electrocardiographic recordings were obtained from 10 patients with panic disorder (PD) and 14 normal controls. Signal analysis of the beat-to-beat heart rate variability was performed by means of power spectrum analysis. The analysis revealed that patients with PD had marked reduction in the high-frequency peaks of the power spectrum densities. An Energy Ratio Index (ERI), which accurately differentiated between patients and controls, was calculated. In PD patients, a significant correlation was demonstrated between the clinical ratings and the energy ratios. Our findings suggest that decreased heart rate variability may be a characteristic of PD. The importance of this finding as a diagnostic marker and the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms need to be further explored.
Klein
E
E
Department of Psychiatry, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
Cnaani
E
E
Harel
T
T
Braun
S
S
Ben-Haim
S A
SA
D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted