Heartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings.
Results on cardiac awareness in panic disorder are inconsistent. The present study attempted to clarify whether differences in instructions or the inclusion of patients taking antidepressant medication could account for these inconsistencies. 112 patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia were co...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1995
|
| _version_ | 1797092879873605632 |
|---|---|
| author | Ehlers, A Breuer, P Dohn, D Fiegenbaum, W |
| author_facet | Ehlers, A Breuer, P Dohn, D Fiegenbaum, W |
| author_sort | Ehlers, A |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Results on cardiac awareness in panic disorder are inconsistent. The present study attempted to clarify whether differences in instructions or the inclusion of patients taking antidepressant medication could account for these inconsistencies. 112 patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia were compared to 40 normal controls on the heartbeat perception task developed by Schandry (1981) [Schandry, R., Psychophysiology, 18, 483-488] using a standard instruction ("count all heartbeats you feel in your body") and a strict instruction ("count only those heartbeats about which you are sure"). Superior heartbeat perception for patients was only found with the standard instruction. Similarly, only with the standard instruction, patients taking medication affecting the cardiovascular system performed worse than patients without medication, as expected based on the relationship between stroke volume and heartbeat perception. The pattern of group differences indicates that agoraphobic patients have a better feeling for how fast their heart is beating than controls although these differences may be due to a tendency to interpret weak sensations as heartbeats. Furthermore, we tested in a subgroup of 40 patients whether cardiac awareness changes with exposure treatment. No changes in heartbeat perception were observed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:52:20Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:c1b21641-5427-42d3-9a98-5db6c6c26540 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:52:20Z |
| publishDate | 1995 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:c1b21641-5427-42d3-9a98-5db6c6c265402022-03-27T06:03:26ZHeartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:c1b21641-5427-42d3-9a98-5db6c6c26540EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford1995Ehlers, ABreuer, PDohn, DFiegenbaum, WResults on cardiac awareness in panic disorder are inconsistent. The present study attempted to clarify whether differences in instructions or the inclusion of patients taking antidepressant medication could account for these inconsistencies. 112 patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia were compared to 40 normal controls on the heartbeat perception task developed by Schandry (1981) [Schandry, R., Psychophysiology, 18, 483-488] using a standard instruction ("count all heartbeats you feel in your body") and a strict instruction ("count only those heartbeats about which you are sure"). Superior heartbeat perception for patients was only found with the standard instruction. Similarly, only with the standard instruction, patients taking medication affecting the cardiovascular system performed worse than patients without medication, as expected based on the relationship between stroke volume and heartbeat perception. The pattern of group differences indicates that agoraphobic patients have a better feeling for how fast their heart is beating than controls although these differences may be due to a tendency to interpret weak sensations as heartbeats. Furthermore, we tested in a subgroup of 40 patients whether cardiac awareness changes with exposure treatment. No changes in heartbeat perception were observed. |
| spellingShingle | Ehlers, A Breuer, P Dohn, D Fiegenbaum, W Heartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings. |
| title | Heartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings. |
| title_full | Heartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings. |
| title_fullStr | Heartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings. |
| title_short | Heartbeat perception and panic disorder: possible explanations for discrepant findings. |
| title_sort | heartbeat perception and panic disorder possible explanations for discrepant findings |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ehlersa heartbeatperceptionandpanicdisorderpossibleexplanationsfordiscrepantfindings AT breuerp heartbeatperceptionandpanicdisorderpossibleexplanationsfordiscrepantfindings AT dohnd heartbeatperceptionandpanicdisorderpossibleexplanationsfordiscrepantfindings AT fiegenbaumw heartbeatperceptionandpanicdisorderpossibleexplanationsfordiscrepantfindings |