Elsevier

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 37, Issue 1, 1 January 1995, Pages 18-24
Biological Psychiatry

Altered heart rate variability in panic disorder patients

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3223(94)00130-UGet rights and content

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.

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