title: Are affective disorders associated with alterations of heart rate variability?
abstract: A standardized heart rate analysis was carried out in unmedicated patients with major depression, melancholic type (n = 16), panic disorder (n = 16), reactive depression with suicide attempts during the preceding 24 h (n = 16) and in 16 normal control subjects. The investigations included time- and frequency-derived measurements of heart rate variability. In the patients with reactive depression, no differences could be detected as compared with the control group. The patients with panic disorder showed a significantly increased low-frequency band of spectral analysis (P < 0.01) and a marginally significant increment of heart rate (P = 0.05), probably indicating predominance of sympathetic control of heart rate. In the patients with major depression, we found significantly lower values of heart's beat-to-beat intervals and of the high-frequency peak of spectral analysis than in the other groups (P < 0.025), indicating decreased parasympathetic activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rechlin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spitzer
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Kaschka
mesh_terms: D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000639:Amitriptyline