Hc. Middleton et M. Ashby, CLINICAL RECOVERY FROM PANIC DISORDER IS ASSOCIATED WITH EVIDENCE OF CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR REGULATION, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica, 91(2), 1995, pp. 108-113
Cardiovascular measures (spectral derivatives of heart rate variabilit
y, the blood pressure response to standing and plasma noradrenaline le
vels) have been shown to change as clinical recovery follows the treat
ment of panic disorder patients with either imipramine or cognitive th
erapy. These findings can be interpreted as evidence of changes in bar
oreflex modulation, an important feature of the cardiovascular express
ion of arousal. This offers further evidence of a dysregulation of aro
usal in this disorder.