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.

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 The Effect of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Training on Mental Health of Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith van der Zwan ◽  
Anja Huizink ◽  
Paul Lehrer ◽  
Hans Koot ◽  
Wieke de Vente
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Biofeedback Training ◽  
Psychological Well Being

In this study, we examined the efficacy of heart rate variability (HRV)-biofeedback on stress and stress-related mental health problems in women. Furthermore, we examined whether the efficacy differed between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Fifty women (20 pregnant, 30 non-pregnant; mean age 31.6, SD = 5.9) were randomized into an intervention (n = 29) or a waitlist condition (n = 21). All participants completed questionnaires on stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep, and psychological well-being on three occasions with 6-week intervals. Women in the intervention condition received HRV-biofeedback training between assessment 1 and 2, and women in the waitlist condition received the intervention between assessment 2 and 3. The intervention consisted of a 5-week HRV-biofeedback training program with weekly 60–90 min. sessions and daily exercises at home. Results indicated a statistically significant beneficial effect of HRV-biofeedback on psychological well-being for all women, and an additional statistically significant beneficial effect on anxiety complaints for pregnant women. No significant effect was found for the other stress-related complaints. These findings support the use of HRV-biofeedback as a stress-reducing technique among women reporting stress and related complaints in clinical practice to improve their well-being. Furthermore, it supports the use of this technique for reducing anxiety during pregnancy.

scholarly journals Physical Activity Practice and Healthy Lifestyles Related to Resting Heart Rate in Health Sciences First-Year Students

2019 ◽  
pp. 155982761987866
Author(s):  
Samuel Honório ◽  
Marco Batista ◽  
Raquel Silva
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Healthy Lifestyles ◽  
Resting Heart Rate ◽  
First Year Students

The expression lifestyle describes a frame of expressed behaviors, usually in the form of patterns of consumption, that defines how an individual or social group fits into society. It presents as a focus of interest by researchers in this field, who classically favor the study of alcohol consumption, tobacco, eating habits, and physical activity. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between physical activity and healthy lifestyles, especially in terms of eating habits, tobacco, alcohol consumption, resting habits, and resting heart rate (RHR) in Health Sciences first-year students. A total of 177 students of both genders participated, of whom 31 (17.5%) were male and 146 (82.5%) were female, with a mean age of 20.20 years, from 18 to 30 years. The data collection instrument used was the Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire (EVS), using SPSS 21.0 for descriptive statistics and the Cronbach α to evaluate the internal consistency of the questionnaires. A level of significance was adopted with a margin of error of 5% for a probability of at least 95% using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov technique and Mann-Whitney test for comparisons between practitioners’ students and genders. The results obtained demonstrate more favorable results in all variables in students practicing physical activity with significant differences in eating habits and RHR. In terms of gender, there were significant differences in all variables except for eating habits. We conclude that students practicing physical activity present more favorable results in terms of lifestyles combined with lower RHR values, considered as positive factors in terms of quality of life.

scholarly journals Lifestyle and Sociodemographic Parameters Associated with Mental and Physical Health during COVID-19 Confinement in Three Ibero-American Countries. A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5450
Author(s):  
Ilse Adriana Gutiérrez-Pérez ◽  
Pedro Delgado-Floody ◽  
Daniel Jerez-Mayorga ◽  
Diego Soto-García ◽  
Felipe Caamaño-Navarrete ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Multilinear Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Multilinear Regression Analysis ◽  
Related Quality

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine the association between the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with sociodemographic parameters and lifestyle during COVID-19 confinement in Mexico, Chile, and Spain. Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study, with 742 observations of online surveys in 422, 190, and 130 individuals from Mexico, Chile, and Spain, respectively. Sociodemographic data, presence of comorbidities, food habits, and physical activity (PA) patterns were evaluated. The HRQoL was evaluated according to the SF-36 Health Survey. The multilinear regression analysis was developed to determine the association of variables with HRQoL and its physical and mental health dimensions. Results: The female sex in the three countries reported negative association with HRQoL (Mexico: β −4.45, p = 0.004; Chile: β −8.48, p <0.001; Spain: β −6.22, p = 0.009). Similarly, bad eating habits were associated negatively with HRQoL (Mexico: β −6.64, p <0.001; Chile: β −6.66, p = 0.005; Spain: β −5.8, p = 0.032). In Mexico, PA limitations presented a negative association with HRQoL (β −4.71, p = 0.011). In Chile, a sedentary lifestyle (h/day) was linked negatively with HRQoL (β −0.64, p = 0.005). In Spain, the highest associations with HRQoL were the presence of comorbidity (β −11.03, p <0.001) and smoking (β −6.72, p = 0.02). Moreover, the PA limitation in Mexico (β −5.67, p = 0.023) and Chile (β −9.26, p = 0.035) was linked negatively with mental health. Conclusions: The bad eating habits, PA limitations, female sex, comorbidity presence, and smoking were parameters linked negatively with HRQoL.

scholarly journals Sleep-time physiological recovery is associated with eating habits in distressed working-age Finns with overweight: secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elina Järvelä-Reijonen ◽  
Suvi Järvinen ◽  
Leila Karhunen ◽  
Tiina Föhr ◽  
Tero Myllymäki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
Sleep Time ◽  
Intuitive Eating ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lower Alcohol

Abstract Background Association of physiological recovery with nutrition has scarcely been studied. We investigated whether physiological recovery during sleep relates to eating habits, i.e., eating behaviour and diet quality. Methods Cross-sectional baseline analysis of psychologically distressed adults with overweight (N = 252) participating in a lifestyle intervention study in three Finnish cities. Recovery measures were based on sleep-time heart rate variability (HRV) measured for 3 consecutive nights. Measures derived from HRV were 1) RMSSD (Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences) indicating the parasympathetic activation of the autonomic nervous system and 2) Stress Balance (SB) indicating the temporal ratio of recovery to stress. Eating behaviour was measured with questionnaires (Intuitive Eating Scale, Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, Health and Taste Attitude Scales, ecSatter Inventory™). Diet quality was quantified using questionnaires (Index of Diet Quality, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test Consumption) and 48-h dietary recall. Results Participants with best RMSSD reported less intuitive eating (p = 0.019) and less eating for physical rather than emotional reasons (p = 0.010) compared to those with poorest RMSSD; participants with good SB reported less unconditional permission to eat (p = 0.008), higher fibre intake (p = 0.028), higher diet quality (p = 0.001), and lower alcohol consumption (p < 0.001) compared to those with poor SB, although effect sizes were small. In subgroup analyses among participants who reported working regular daytime hours (n = 216), only the associations of SB with diet quality and alcohol consumption remained significant. Conclusions Better nocturnal recovery showed associations with better diet quality, lower alcohol consumption and possibly lower intuitive eating. In future lifestyle interventions and clinical practice, it is important to acknowledge sleep-time recovery as one possible factor linked with eating habits. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01738256, Registered 17 August 2012.

Cognitive Aspects of Panic Attacks

1989 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Zucker ◽  
C. B. Taylor ◽  
M. Brouillard ◽  
A. Ehlers ◽  
J. Margraf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Panic Attack ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Panic Attacks ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Initial Event ◽  
Mental Arithmetic Task

Twenty patients with panic attacks and ten controls were given a standardised interview about thoughts occurring during times of anxiety or panic attacks. The interviewer was blind to the subject's diagnosis. The 20 panic patients underwent a psychophysiological test battery which included a cold pressor test, mental arithmetic task, and 5.5% CO2 inhalation. More patients than controls reported thoughts centred on fears of losing control and shame when anxious. Panic patients rated their thoughts as stronger and clearer than did controls and they had more difficulty excluding them from their minds. A feeling of anxiety preceded anxious thoughts in patients. This suggests that ‘faulty cognitions' are not the initial event in a panic attack, although anxious thoughts may exacerbate or maintain them. Significant correlations were found between the intensity of anxiety-related thoughts in anticipation of mental arithmetic and changes in diastolic blood pressure and heart rate during mental arithmetic.

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