Investigating the Effect of Mindfulness Training on Heart Rate Variability in Mental Health Outpatients: A Pilot Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis Wheeler ◽  
Linley Denson ◽  
Chris Neil ◽  
Graeme Tucker ◽  
Maura Kenny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Cardiac Risk ◽  
Significant Treatment ◽  
Electrocardiographic Monitoring ◽  
Axis I

Depression is associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality in people with and without cardiac risk factors, and this relationship is, in part, mediated by heart rate variability (HRV). Increased heart rate and reduced HRV are common in depressed patients, which may explain their higher cardiac risk. This pilot study investigated whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) promoted objective changes in (1) HRV, and (2) depressive symptoms and quality of life, in mental health outpatients. Twenty-seven adults meeting criteria for DSM-IV Axis I disorders completed an 8-week MBCT program. Data were collected on three occasions, 8 weeks apart; twice before and once after MBCT. Participants completed the Short Form-36 and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) at each test period. Heart rate and HRV were measured during electrocardiographic monitoring before and after a cognitive stressor. At baseline, 78% of participants met criteria for depression (CES-D ≥16). Multivariate analyses revealed a significant treatment effect for SF-36 physical summary score and depression (as a dichotomous variable), but not for HRV. This pilot study highlights the immediate psychological and health benefits of MBCT. Low power may have influenced the lack of a finding of an association between HRV and MBCT. However, the feasibility of the study design has been established, and supports the need for larger and longer-term studies of the potential physiological benefits of MBCT for cardiac health.

scholarly journals Smart Devices and Wearable Technologies to Detect and Monitor Mental Health Conditions and Stress: A Systematic Review

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3461
Author(s):  
Blake Anthony Hickey ◽  
Taryn Chalmers ◽  
Phillip Newton ◽  
Chin-Teng Lin ◽  
David Sibbritt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Stress Detection ◽  
Wearable Technologies ◽  
Detection Of Stress ◽  
Anxiety Depression

Recently, there has been an increase in the production of devices to monitor mental health and stress as means for expediting detection, and subsequent management of these conditions. The objective of this review is to identify and critically appraise the most recent smart devices and wearable technologies used to identify depression, anxiety, and stress, and the physiological process(es) linked to their detection. The MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central, and PsycINFO databases were used to identify studies which utilised smart devices and wearable technologies to detect or monitor anxiety, depression, or stress. The included articles that assessed stress and anxiety unanimously used heart rate variability (HRV) parameters for detection of anxiety and stress, with the latter better detected by HRV and electroencephalogram (EGG) together. Electrodermal activity was used in recent studies, with high accuracy for stress detection; however, with questionable reliability. Depression was found to be largely detected using specific EEG signatures; however, devices detecting depression using EEG are not currently available on the market. This systematic review highlights that average heart rate used by many commercially available smart devices is not as accurate in the detection of stress and anxiety compared with heart rate variability, electrodermal activity, and possibly respiratory rate.

scholarly journals The relationship between Gulf War Illness symptom severity and heart rate variability: A pilot study

Life Sciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 119663
Author(s):  
Kyle J. Jaquess ◽  
Nathaniel Allen ◽  
Timothy J. Chun ◽  
Lucas Crock ◽  
Alexander A. Zajdel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Gulf War ◽  
Gulf War Illness ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Heart rate variability moderates the effects of COVID-19-related stress and family adversity on emotional problems in adolescents: Testing models of differential susceptibility and diathesis stress

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Jonas G. Miller ◽  
Rajpreet Chahal ◽  
Jaclyn S. Kirshenbaum ◽  
Tiffany C. Ho ◽  
Anthony J. Gifuni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Emotional Problems ◽  
Differential Susceptibility ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Family Adversity ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
Related Stress

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique period of stress, uncertainty, and adversity that will have significant implications for adolescent mental health. Nevertheless, stress and adversity related to COVID-19 may be more consequential for some adolescents’ mental health than for others. We examined whether heart rate variability (HRV) indicated differential susceptibility to mental health difficulties associated with COVID-19 stress and COVID-19 family adversity. Approximately 4 years prior to the pandemic, we assessed resting HRV and HRV reactivity to a well-validated stress paradigm in 87 adolescents. During the pandemic, these adolescents (ages 13–19) reported on their health-related stress and concerns about COVID-19, family adversity related to COVID-19, and their recent emotional problems. The association between COVID-19 stress and emotional problems was significantly stronger for adolescents who previously exhibited higher resting HRV or higher HRV reactivity. For adolescents who exhibited lower resting HRV or HRV augmentation, COVID-19 stress was not associated with emotional problems. Conversely, lower resting HRV indicated vulnerability to the effect of COVID-19 family adversity on emotional problems. Different patterns of parasympathetic functioning may reflect differential susceptibility to the effects of COVID-19 stress versus vulnerability to the effects of COVID-19 family adversity on mental health during the pandemic.

PanicMechanic: A Digital Therapeutic Delivering Biofeedback for Panic Attacks (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen McGinnis ◽  
Aisling O'Leary ◽  
Reed Gurchiek ◽  
William Copeland ◽  
Ryan McGinnis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Real World ◽  
Panic Attack ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Panic Attacks

UNSTRUCTURED Panic attacks are an impairing mental health problem that affects more than 11% of adults every year. Panic attacks are episodic, and it is difficult to predict when or where they may occur, thus they are challenging to study and treat. To this end, we present PanicMechanic, a novel mobile health (mHealth) application that captures heartrate-based data and delivers biofeedback during panic attacks. We leverage this tool to capture profiles of real-world panic attacks in a largest sample to date and present results from a pilot study to assess the feasibility and usefulness of PanicMechanic as a panic attack intervention. Results demonstrate that heart rate fluctuates by about 15 beats per minute during a panic attack and takes about 30 seconds to return to baseline from peak, cycling 4 to 5 times during each attack and that anxiety ratings consistently decrease throughout the attack. Thoughts about health were the most common trigger during the observed panic attacks, and potential lifestyle contributors include slightly worse stress, sleep, and eating habits, slightly less exercise, and slightly less drug/alcohol consumption than typical. The pilot study revealed that PanicMechanic is largely feasible to use, but would be made more so with simple modifications to the app and particularly the integration of consumer wearables. Similarly, participants found PanicMechanic useful, with 94% indicating that they would recommend PanicMechanic to a friend. These results point toward the need for future development and a controlled trial to establish effectiveness of this digital therapeutic for preventing panic attacks.

scholarly journals A pilot study investigating the relationship between heart rate variability and blood pressure in young adults at risk for cardiovascular disease

2022 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda P. Bolin ◽  
Amelia D. Saul ◽  
Lauren L. Bethune Scroggs ◽  
Carolyn Horne
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Family History ◽  
Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Biofeedback Training ◽  
Paced Breathing ◽  
History Of

Abstract Background Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death globally with hypertension being a primary cause of premature death from this disease process. Individuals with a family history of cardiovascular disease and hypertension are at a greater risk for developing the same sequela. Autonomic cardiac control is important in the level of cardiac function. One intervention that is effective in improving cardiovascular function is heart rate variability biofeedback training. The purpose of our study was to determine the effectiveness of heart rate biofeedback training on HRV and blood pressure in individuals with a family history of cardiovascular disease. Methods Thirty-four participants (76.5% female, 22.7 ± 4.3 years) completed a baseline assessment and training using an established short-term HRV protocol followed by two weeks of at-home paced breathing employing a smartphone application. The participants were then reassessed in a biofeedback clinic. Results The participants physiological measures showed a significant increase in means between pre and post intervention of SDNN (t (32) = 2.177, p =.037) and TP, (t (32) = 2.327 p = .026). Correlation noted a medium effect on diastolic blood pressure and high frequency heart rate variability, F, r = .41, n =33, p < .05. A multiple regression with all predictor variables in the model found no significance with diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Conclusions The findings from this pilot study demonstrated that a two-week paced breathing intervention may assist in reducing heart rate and diastolic blood pressure while improving heart rate variability.

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