LACK OF MITRAL-VALVE COLLAPSE IN SODIUM L ACTATE-INDUCED PANIC ATTACK

The recent identification of a new type of anxiety state, panic attack , has drawn attention to common pathways between panic disorder and ca rdiac somatization, particularly mitral valve collapse. A double-blind study was set up, using doppler-echocardiography during a panic attac k induced by sodium lactate infusion. The results showed that there wa s no relationship between panic attack and mitral valve collapse, and that the lactate infusion-anxiety rate was only 35 percent.