Elsevier

Psychiatry Research

Volume 46, Issue 1, January 1993, Pages 89-103
Psychiatry Research

Decreased heart rate variability in panic disorder patients: A study of power-spectral analysis of heart rate

https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(93)90011-5Get rights and content

Abstract

We have previously found decreased standard deviations and mean consecutive differences of R-R intervals in panic disorder patients in standing posture, compared with control subjects. In the present study, we used spectral analysis of heart rate variability to examine autonomic function in 21 panic disorder patients and 21 normal control subjects. Patients had a significantly lower standard deviation of heart rate in supine as well as standing postures. Absolute low frequency power (0.01-0.05 Hz) was also significantly lower in panic disorder patients in standing postures. Upon standing, the panic disorder patients had significantly higher relative mid-frequency power (0.07-0.15 Hz). During a standing deep-breathing condition at six breaths per minute, the patients had a significantly decreased absolute and relative mid-frequency (0.07-0.15 Hz) power compared with control subjects. These findings suggest a decrease in cholinergic and a relative increase in adrenergic responsiveness in panic disorder patients compared with control subjects.

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    Vikram K. Yeragani, M.D., and Richard Balon, M.D., are Associate Professors of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Robert Pohl, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Ronald Berger, M.D., Ph.D., is Fellow, Department of Cardiology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, M.D. C. Ramesh, M.D., and Debra Glitz, M.D., are Assistant Professors of Psychiatry; K. Srinivasan, M.D., is Research Fellow; and Paula Weinberg, R.N., M.S.N., is Research Coordinator, Anxiety Disorders Program, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.

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