Effects of Fear Induction on Heart Period Variability

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Stark ◽  
Alfons Hamm ◽  
Anne Schienle ◽  
Bertram Walter ◽  
Dieter Vaitl
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Heart Period ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Heart Period Variability ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Period Variability

Abstract The present study investigated the influence of contextual fear in comparison to relaxation on heart period variability (HPV), and analyzed differences in HPV between low and high anxious, nonclinical subjects. Fifty-three women participated in the study. Each subject underwent four experimental conditions (control, fear, relaxation, and a combined fear-relaxation condition), lasting 10 min each. Fear was provoked by an unpredictable aversive human scream. Relaxation should be induced with the aid of verbal instructions. To control for respiratory effects on HPV, breathing was paced at 0.2 Hz using an indirect light source. Besides physiological measures (HPV measures, ECG, respiration, forearm EMG, blood pressure), emotional states (pleasure, arousal, dominance, state anxiety) were assessed by subjects' self-reports. Since relaxation instructions did not have any effect neither on the subjective nor on the physiological variables, the present paper focuses on the comparison of the control and the fear condition. The scream reliably induced changes in both physiological and self-report measures. During the fear condition, subjects reported more arousal and state anxiety as well as less pleasure and dominance. Heart period decreased, while EMG and diastolic blood pressure showed a tendency to increase. HPV remained largely unaltered with the exception of the LF component, which slightly decreased under fear induction. Replicating previous findings, trait anxiety was negatively associated with HPV, but there were no treatment-specific differences between subjects with low and high trait anxiety.

Short-term variability of blood pressure and heart rate in Guillain-Barreá syndrome without respiratory failure

1999 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 613-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Djillali ANNANE ◽  
Véronique BAUDRIE ◽  
Anne-Sophie BLANC ◽  
Dominique LAUDE ◽  
Jean-Claude RAPHAËL ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Respiratory Failure ◽  
Plasma Noradrenaline ◽  
Heart Period ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Heart Period Variability ◽  
Period Variability ◽  
Head Up Tilt ◽  
Short Term Variability

The effect of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) on the short-term variability of blood pressure and heart rate was evaluated in six patients presenting with a moderate form of the syndrome, i.e. unable to stand up unaided and without respiratory failure, at the height of the disease and during recovery. The patients were compared with six age-matched healthy volunteers. During the acute phase of the syndrome, GBS patients exhibited a significant heart rate elevation (+26 beats/min compared with healthy subjects), but the acceleratory response to atropine, or to 60 ° head-up tilt, was maintained. Resting plasma noradrenaline levels were high in acute GBS, but the secretory response to tilt was preserved. Desensitization to noradrenaline was observed in acute GBS with a reduced pressor action of this α-adrenoceptor agonist. Blood pressure levels were normal and head-up tilt did not induce orthostatic hypotension in this moderate form of GBS. Power spectral analysis demonstrated marked alterations in cardiovascular variability. The overall heart period variability was markedly reduced with the reduction predominantly in the high-frequency (respiratory) range (-73%). The low-frequency component of heart period variability was also reduced (-54%). This cardiovascular profile of moderate GBS at the height of the disease could result from a demyelination of the reflex loop controlling respiratory oscillations in heart rate and from a desensitization of the arterial tree to an elevated plasma noradrenaline. Sympathetic nervous activation may contribute to the high resting heart rate in acute GBS.

scholarly journals Deriving heart period variability from blood pressure waveforms

2003 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 1431-1438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula S. McKinley ◽  
Peter A. Shapiro ◽  
Emilia Bagiella ◽  
Michael M. Myers ◽  
Ronald E. De Meersman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Heart Period ◽  
Heart Period Variability ◽  
Period Variability ◽  
Blood Pressure Waveform ◽  
Stress Study ◽  
Speech Presentation

International standards for calculating heart period variability (HPV) from a series of R-wave intervals (R-R) in an electrocardiographic (ECG) recording have been widely accepted. It is possible, and potentially useful in various settings, to use systolic blood pressure waveform intervals to estimate HPV, but the validity of HPV derived from blood pressure (BP) waveforms has not been established. To test the reliability between BP- and ECG-derived HPV indexes, we evaluated data from 234 healthy adults in four studies of HPV reactivity to stress. Study conditions included resting baseline, arithmetic, Stroop test, speech presentation, and orthostatic tilt. Continuous ECG and BP recordings were sampled at a rate of 500 Hz, scored by the same methods, and used to calculate heart rate and time- and frequency-domain measures of HPV. Overall, reliability between the two methods was very high for computing heart rate and HPV indexes. High-frequency HPV indexes were somewhat less reliably computed. In conclusion, in healthy adults, with the use of appropriate methods, BP waveforms can produce reliable indexes of HPV.

Monitoring heart period variability changes during seizures. I. Methods

1990 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Messenheimer ◽  
Stephen R. Quint ◽  
Michael B. Tennison ◽  
Pattye Keaney
Keyword(s):  
Heart Period ◽  
Heart Period Variability ◽  
Period Variability

scholarly journals State Anxiety Is Associated with Cardiovascular Reactivity in Young, Healthy African Americans

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mildred A. Pointer ◽  
Sadiqa Yancey ◽  
Ranim Abou-Chacra ◽  
Patricia Petrusi ◽  
Sandra J. Waters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Cardiovascular Reactivity ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Blood Pressure Response ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Pressure Response ◽  
Anxiety State ◽  
Stress Tests

Although several studies have shown that enhanced cardiovascular reactivity can predict hypertension development in African Americans, these findings have not been consistent among all studies examining reactivity and hypertension susceptibility. This inconsistency may be explained by the influence of anxiety (state and trait) on the blood pressure response to stress. Therefore, this study sought to determine whether anxiety is associated with blood pressure response to cold pressor (CP) and anger recall (AR) stress tests in young healthy African Americans. Modeling using state and trait anxiety revealed that state anxiety predicts systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure DBP response to CP and AR (P≤0.02). Interestingly, state anxiety predicted heart rate changes only to CP (P<0.01;P=0.3for AR). Although trait anxiety was associated with SBP response to AR and not CP, it was not a significant predictor of reactivity in our models. We conclude that anxiety levels may contribute to the variable blood pressure response to acute stressors and, therefore, should be assessed when performing cardiovascular reactivity measures.

The correlation between heart period variability and mean period length

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Fleiss ◽  
J. T. Bigger ◽  
L. M. Rolnitzky
Keyword(s):  
Period Length ◽  
Heart Period ◽  
Heart Period Variability ◽  
Period Variability

Temporal asymmetries of short-term heart period variability are linked to autonomic regulation

2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (2) ◽  
pp. R550-R557 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Porta ◽  
K. R. Casali ◽  
A. G. Casali ◽  
T. Gnecchi-Ruscone ◽  
E. Tobaldini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autonomic Regulation ◽  
Heart Period ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Time Reversibility ◽  
Heart Period Variability ◽  
Period Variability ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Inclination Angles ◽  
Head Up Tilt ◽  
Important Shift

We exploit time reversibility analysis, checking the invariance of statistical features of a series after time reversal, to detect temporal asymmetries of short-term heart period variability series. Reversibility indexes were extracted from 22 healthy fetuses between 16th to 40th wk of gestation and from 17 healthy humans (aged 21 to 54, median = 28) during graded head-up tilt with table inclination angles randomly selected inside the set {15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90}. Irreversibility analysis showed that nonlinear dynamics observed in short-term heart period variability are mostly due to asymmetric patterns characterized by bradycardic runs shorter than tachycardic ones. These temporal asymmetries were 1) more likely over short temporal scales than over longer, dominant ones; 2) more frequent during the late period of pregnancy (from 25th to 40th week of gestation); 3) significantly present in healthy humans at rest in supine position; 4) more numerous during 75 and 90° head-up tilt. Results suggest that asymmetric patterns observable in short-term heart period variability might be the result of a fully developed autonomic regulation and that an important shift of the sympathovagal balance toward sympathetic predominance (and vagal withdrawal) can increase their presence.

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