Kotianova Antonia, Kotian Michal, Slepecky Milos, Chupacova Michaela, Prasko Jan, Tonhajzerova Ingrid
Department of Psychology Sciences, Faculty of Social Science and Health Care, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic.
Psychagogia, Garbiarska, Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovak Republic.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2018 Feb 7;14:435-441. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S153005. eCollection 2018.
Alarming somatic symptoms, in particular, cardiovascular symptoms, are the characteristic feature of panic attacks. Increased cardiac mortality and morbidity have been found in these patients. Power spectral analysis of electrocardiogram R-R intervals is known to be a particularly successful tool in the detection of autonomic instabilities in various clinical disorders. Our study aimed to compare patients with panic disorder and healthy controls in heart rate variation (HRV) parameters (very-low-frequency [VLF], low-frequency [LF], and high-frequency [HF] band components of R-R interval) in baseline and during the response to the mental task.
We assessed psychophysiological variables in 33 patients with panic disorder (10 men, 23 women; mean age 35.9±10.7 years) and 33 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (10 men, 23 women; mean age 35.8±12.1 years). Patients were treatment naïve. Heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and HRV in basal conditions and after the psychological task were assessed. Power spectrum was computed for VLF (0.003-0.04 Hz), LF (0.04-0.15 Hz), and HF (0.15-0.40 Hz) bands using fast Fourier transformation.
In the baseline period, the VLF band was significantly lower in panic disorder group compared to controls (<0.005). In the period of mental task, the LF/HF ratio was significantly higher in panic disorder patients compared to controls (<0.05). No significant differences were found in the remaining parameters. There was a significant difference in ΔHF and ΔLF/HF ratio between patients and controls, with Δ increasing in patients and decreasing in controls.
These findings revealed that patients suffering from panic disorder were characterized by relative sympathetic dominance (reactivity) in response to mental stress compared with healthy controls.
令人担忧的躯体症状，尤其是心血管症状，是惊恐发作的特征性表现。已发现这些患者的心脏死亡率和发病率有所增加。心电图R-R间期的功率谱分析是检测各种临床疾病中自主神经不稳定的一种特别成功的工具。我们的研究旨在比较惊恐障碍患者和健康对照者在基线期以及对心理任务反应期间的心率变异性（HRV）参数（R-R间期的极低频[VLF]、低频[LF]和高频[HF]波段成分）。
我们评估了33例惊恐障碍患者（10名男性，23名女性；平均年龄35.9±10.7岁）和33名年龄及性别匹配的健康对照者（10名男性，23名女性；平均年龄35.8±12.1岁）的心理生理变量。患者未接受过治疗。评估了基础状态下以及心理任务后的心率、血压、肌肉张力和HRV。使用快速傅里叶变换计算VLF（0.003 - 0.04 Hz）、LF（0.04 - 0.15 Hz）和HF（0.15 - 0.40 Hz）波段的功率谱。
在基线期，惊恐障碍组的VLF波段显著低于对照组（<0.005）。在心理任务期间，惊恐障碍患者的LF/HF比值显著高于对照组（<0.05）。其余参数未发现显著差异。患者与对照组之间的ΔHF和ΔLF/HF比值存在显著差异，患者的Δ值增加而对照组的Δ值降低。
这些发现表明，与健康对照者相比，惊恐障碍患者在对心理应激的反应中具有相对的交感神经优势（反应性）。
