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Cardiac Vagal Tone in Generalised Anxiety Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Mark Kollai  and
Balazs Kollai
Mark Kollai*
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Semmelweis Medical University, Ulloi ut 78/A, Budapest 1082, Hungary
Balazs Kollai
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Balassa Janos Hospital, Vas u. 17, Budapest, 1088, Hungary
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

The aim of the present study was twofold: firstly, to determine cardiac vagal tone in subjects with generalised anxiety disorder directly, using an invasive pharmacological method; and secondly, to test whether the non-invasive method of measuring the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) gives a reliable estimate of cardiac vagal tone in this form of anxiety disorder. Comparison of baseline physiological measures of anxious and control subjects revealed that cardiac vagal tone and heart rate were not different in the two groups of subjects, whereas length of the respiratory cycle and amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia were reduced in the former group. Because of the higher respiratory rates of anxious subjects, the RSA method was found to underestimate cardiac vagal tone in generalised anxiety disorder.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 161 , Issue 6 , December 1992 , pp. 831 - 835
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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