Comparing two brief psychological interventions to usual care in panic disorder patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain.

BACKGROUND: Panic disorder (PD) is a common, often unrecognized condition among patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency departments (ED). Nevertheless, psychological treatment is rarely initiated. We are unaware of studies that evaluated the efficacy of brief cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for this population. AIM: Evaluate the efficacy of two brief CBT interventions in PD patients presenting to the ED with chest pain. METHOD: Fifty-eight PD patients were assigned to either a 1-session CBT-based panic management intervention (PMI) (n = 24), a 7-session CBT intervention (n = 19), or a usual-care control condition (n = 15). A structured diagnostic interview and self-reported questionnaires were administered at pre-test, post-test, 3- and 6-month follow-ups. RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed significant reduction in PD severity following both interventions compared to usual care control condition, but with neither showing superiority compared to the other. CONCLUSIONS: CBT-based interventions as brief as a single session initiated within 2 weeks after an ED visit for chest pain appear to be effective for PD. Given the high prevalence of PD in emergency care settings, greater efforts should be made to implement these interventions in the ED and/or primary care setting.

Psychometric properties and factor structure of the Greek version of the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ).

The present study assesses the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Greek version of the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ). The questionnaire was administered to 598 healthy individuals from 15 different regions of Greece with a measure of socioeconomic characteristics and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). The sample was split into two random halves, and exploratory factor analysis indicated a three-factor solution. This solution was tested using a confirmatory factor analysis on the second half of the sample. In terms of latent dimensions, the Greek version retains the three-factor structure as proposed by the initial authors. However, adequate fit was achieved only after omitting eight items. The shorter (10-item) version was submitted to further analysis. The shorter version provided satisfactory internal reliability and evidence indicating the validity of the scale with respect to SCL-90-R subscales. The stability of the questionnaire was verified by a high test-retest reliability over a 3-mo. period (r = .86). Sex and age differences were assessed. The 10-item version appears to be a practical, brief tool for clinical use.

False heart rate feedback and the perception of heart symptoms in patients with congenital heart disease and anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the mechanisms explaining an increased perception of heart symptoms in congenital heart disease (ConHD). In the present study, it was suggested that a combination of high trait anxiety and disease history increases the perception of heart symptoms. PURPOSE: It was tested whether false heart cues will result in an increased perception of heart symptoms in patients with ConHD and anxiety. METHOD: Thirty-six patients with ConHD and 44 healthy controls performed two exercise tasks. During one of the exercise tasks, participants were exposed to a false heart cue consisting of false heart rate feedback (regular or irregular). Perceived heart symptoms were assessed and heart rate, arterial partial pressure of CO(2), and respirator rate were monitored continuously. RESULTS: In line with the predictions, false heart rate feedback resulted in an increased perception of heart symptoms in high trait anxious patients with ConHD that could not be explained by acute heart dysfunction. However, unexpectedly, this effect was not observed immediately after the false heart rate feedback task but after a second exercise task without false feedback. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that not the sole presence of ConHD but ConHD in combination with high trait anxiety results in a vulnerability to overperceive heart symptoms.

Cardiac anxiety in people with and without coronary atherosclerosis.

Many studies have shown that cardiac anxiety when occurring in the absence of coronary artery disease is common and quite costly. The Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) is an 18-item self-report measure that assesses anxiety related to cardiac symptoms. To better understand the construct of cardiac anxiety, a factor analysis was conducted on CAQ data from 658 individuals who were self or physician-referred for electron beam tomographic screening to determine whether clinically significant coronary atherosclerosis was present. A four-factor solution was judged to provide the best fit with the results reflecting the following factor composition: heart-focused attention, avoidance of activities that bring on symptoms, worry or fear regarding symptoms, and reassurance-seeking. Factorial invariance across groups was also assessed to determine whether the factor structure of the CAQ was similar in individuals with and without clear evidence of coronary atherosclerosis. The factor structure of the CAQ did not differ between the two groups. However, the group without coronary atherosclerosis had significantly higher mean scores on their attention and worry/fear factors suggesting that people without a diagnosed cardiac condition pay more attention to and worry more about their cardiac-related symptoms than those people who have coronary atherosclerosis.

I Keep a Close Watch on This Heart of Mine: Increased Interoception in Insomnia.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Whereas both insomnia and altered interoception are core symptoms in affective disorders, their neural mechanisms remain insufficiently understood and have not previously been linked. Insomnia Disorder (ID) is characterized by sensory hypersensitivity during wakefulness and sleep. Previous studies on sensory processing in ID addressed external stimuli only, but not interoception. Interoceptive sensitivity can be studied quantitatively by measuring the cerebral cortical response to one's heartbeat (heartbeat-evoked potential, HEP). We here investigated whether insomnia is associated with increased interoceptive sensitivity as indexed by the HEP amplitude. METHODS: Sixty-four participants aged 21-70 years were recruited through www.sleepregistry.nl including 32 people suffering from ID and 32 age- and sex-matched controls without sleep complaints. HEPs were obtained from resting-state high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG) recorded during evening wakeful rest in eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) conditions of 5-minute duration each. Significance of group differences in HEP amplitude and their topographical distribution over the scalp were assessed by means of cluster-based permutation tests. RESULTS: In particular during EC, and to a lesser extent during EO, people with ID had a larger amplitude late HEP component than controls at frontal electrodes 376-500 ms after the R-wave peak. Source localization suggested increased neural activity time-locked to heartbeats in people with ID mainly in anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortices. CONCLUSIONS: People with insomnia show insufficient adaptation of their brain responses to the ever-present heartbeats. Abnormalities in the neural circuits involved in interoceptive awareness including the salience network may be of key importance to the pathophysiology of insomnia.

The impact of depression and cardiophobia on quality of life in patients with essential hypertension.

Patients with chronic conditions like hypertension may experience many negative emotions which endorse the development of anxiety and depression symptomatology, thus they increase their risk for poor quality of life. Several studies have shown an association between symptoms of psychological distress and hypertension. In this study we aimed to quantify the link between depression, cardiophobia and quality of life in hypertensive patients. A cross-sectional design was employed. A sample of 197 hypertensive patients (89 men-108 women, mean age 53 years, SD=12 ranged 25-78) from a university outpatient hypertension clinic in Greece participated. Ninety-four (47.7%) of the participants suffered from essential grade I hypertension; 68 (34.5%) were grade II; 16 (8.1%) were categorized as grade III, while only 11 (5.6%) patients were recorded as normotensives with high normal values. The questionnaires included: (a) question for the recording of social-demographic characteristics and clinical features, (b) The Short Form (SF-36) Health Survey, (c) The Beck Depression Inventory -I, and (d) The Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire. There were no significant differences between the two genders with exception of marital status (p=0.010), dyslipidemia (p=0.050), grade of hypertension (p=0.014), cardiac left ventricular hypertrophy (p=0.004), renal failure (p=0.043) and stroke (p=0.024). Lower levels of quality of life and higher levels of depression and cardiophobia were observed compared to the general population. There were no significant differences on psychological measures between the two sexes (p>0.05). Cardiophobia was positively related to depressive symptomatology (r=0.533, p=0.000) while negatively to both physical and mental health summary measures of SF-36 health survey (r=-0.467, p=0.000 r=-0.537, p=0.000 respectively). Multiple linear regression models found that for psychical health depression and cardiac anxiety, avoidance activities had an influence on levels of quality of life in hypertensive patients, after controlling for age and other socio-demographic variables and clinical characteristics (Beta=-0.133, p=0.007, Beta=-0.364 p=0.000 and Beta=-0.167 p=0.006, respectively). For mental component summary depression and cardiophobia, heart focused attention had also impact on mental health in hypertensives (Beta=-0.438, p=0.016, Beta=-0.564, p=0.000 and Beta=-0.223, p=0.037, respectively) after adjustments. Heart focused anxiety symptoms-as avoidance activities and/or attention and monitoring cardiac activity, are related to hypertensive patients' present deteriorated depressive symptoms and levels of quality of life. Both depressive symptomatology and heart focused anxiety may be a mechanism partly responsible for hypertensive patients' present impaired levels of quality of life.

Panic disorder in cardiology patients: a review of the Missouri Panic/Cardiology Project.

This paper reviews current evidence from several cardiology populations that suggests that panic disorder is prevalent and underdiagnosed. Cardiology patients with atypical angina, and no heart disease have a high likelihood of having panic disorder, as suggested by studies of two separate cardiology populations. That they resemble psychiatric populations with panic is suggested by their positive response to alprazolam. A panic disorder subtype, called non-fear panic disorder also appeared in about one-third of these cardiology panic patients. These patients have most of the panic symptoms but do not report fear during their episodes.

Increased cardiac awareness in panic disorder.

We investigated cardiac perception in panic disorder with both self-report and objective measures. In Study 1, 120 patients with panic disorder, 86 infrequent panickers, and 38 patients with other anxiety disorders reported greater cardiac and gastrointestinal awareness than 62 normal control subjects. Subjects with panic attacks reported greater cardiac awareness, but not gastrointestinal awareness, than those with other anxiety disorders. Studies 2 and 3 included a test of heart rate perception in which subjects silently counted their heart-beats without taking their pulse. In Study 2, 65 panic disorder patients showed better performance than 50 infrequent panickers, 27 patients with simple phobias, and 46 normal control subjects. No group differences were found in ability to estimate time intervals. In Study 3, 13 patients with panic disorder and 15 with generalized anxiety disorder showed better heart rate perception than 16 depressed patients.

Panic disorder, cardiology patients, and atypical chest pain.

Although patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries have low mortality, several studies have indicated that their social and work morbidity is high. Panic disorder appears to be a major contributor to the continuing chest pain in this population. There are also many chest pain patients appearing in cardiology clinics who also do not have heart disease but who are not given the opportunity to be evaluated for psychiatric disorders. Among those presenting with atypical or nonanginal chest pain, panic disorder represents a likely etiologic consideration. The fact that such patients do exist in cardiology populations is further substantiated by an open-label trial of alprazolam which demonstrated a positive effect in patients selected from those with atypical chest pain and no heart disease found to fit panic disorder criteria. These findings strongly support the increasing affiliation between cardiology and psychiatry and reinforce the belief that many problems of the heart may be problems of the mind/brain.

The development of agoraphobia in panic disorder: a predictable process?

BACKGROUND: Panic attacks are conceptualized to be the central feature of both panic disorder without (PDU) and with agoraphobia (PDA). As a sizeable percentage of panic patients do not develop avoidance behavior, other factors than 'panic attacks', in general, must influence the different courses of the disorder. METHOD: We studied 84 outpatients suffering from PDU or PDA concerning different factors which were hypothesized to influence the development of agoraphobia. RESULTS: 'Earlier age of onset', 'fear of losing control' and 'chills or hot flushes' turned out to correlate statistically significantly with PDA, while 'chest pain or discomfort' occurred more often in PDU. LIMITATIONS: The present study used retrospective data. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that the development of agoraphobia in panic disorder is influenced by specific variables and is not a purely coincidental process.

Perception of emotions in everyday life: studies with patients and normals.

Five studies with nearly 500 subjects recruited from the university, the work place, and from rehabilitation clinics served to investigate the perception of emotional events in everyday life. Physiological parameters (heart rate, physical activity, additional heart rate) and psychological parameters (excitement, enjoyment) were assessed simultaneously throughout the day using a special ambulatory monitoring device capable of storing 23-h records. Emotional events were identified by an increase of heart rate without an accompanying increase in physical activity (additional heart rate) and under special requirements a feedback signal was given which requested subjects to answer predefined questions. Between these 'true' feedbacks, 'random' feedbacks were interspersed with no indication of emotional arousal. Subjects were unaware that the feedback signal was triggered by their own heart rate. Laboratory experiments with films of different emotional quality showed that the method is suitable for the detection of emotional arousal. Comparisons of true feedbacks (emotional events) with random feedbacks (neutral situations) did not show significant differences for excitement and enjoyment ratings for any of the normal samples and for one of the patient samples. Only a sample of coronary heart disease patients showed small differences in the psychological variables which were significant due to the large sample size. From the results it may be concluded that the perception of physiological changes indicating emotional arousal in everyday life is quite different from the results suggested by laboratory experiments. The findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of 'competition of cues' and 'cognitive schemas' proposed by Pennebaker (1982, The psychology of physical symptoms, New York: Springer).

Anxiety and autonomic flexibility: a cardiovascular approach.

Autonomic characteristics of panickers, blood phobics, and nonanxious controls were compared with a variety of cardiovascular measures, including spectral analysis of the cardiac inter-beat interval time series (derived from the electrocardiogram). Responses to laboratory stressors (shock avoidance and cold face stress) of 16 participants who reported recent occurrences of frequent severe panic attacks, 15 participants who reported strong somatic reactions and fainting to the sight of blood, and 15 controls, were recorded. Results suggested distinct autonomic patterns among the three groups. Across conditions, panickers displayed the highest heart rates (HR) coupled with the least HR variability, which indicates low levels of cardiac vagal tone. Blood phobics showed more vagally mediated HR variability than panickers, with a significant association between cardiac rate and mean arterial pressure. Controls generally showed the most HR variability and 'spectral reserve' (a quality that indicates flexible responsivity). Results are discussed in the context of traditional models of anxiety and autonomic activity in contrast to contemporary notions of stability and change in biological systems.

The course of psychiatric disorder associated with non-specific chest pain.

One hundred and eight consecutive patients admitted urgently for the first time with chest pain were interviewed to assess psychiatric symptoms prior to admission, at admission and three months later. Seventy-one patients had ischaemic heart disease, 19 had non-specific chest pain and 18 patients were excluded because of other organic causes for the pain. Compared to the ischaemic heart disease subjects, the non-specific chest pain patients tended to have more psychiatric disorder which increased over the three assessments; at follow up 33% of ischaemic heart disease patients and 59% of non-specific chest pain patients had psychiatric disorder. Chest pain was reported by 71% of the non-specific group at three months but this was not related to presence of psychiatric disorder. Unlike previous studies which 'have assessed out-patients with normal coronary angiograms', this study has shown that males predominate among patients admitted urgently with non-specific chest pain. In addition, these subjects use greater amounts of cigarettes and alcohol, and experience significantly more psychiatric disorder compared to patients admitted with ischaemic heart disease. The factors which lead to some of these patients developing chronic non-specific chest pain need to be investigated in further studies.

Heart-focused and general illness fears in relation to parental medical history and separation experiences.

Disease fears, such as excessive heart-focused anxiety (HFA), are quite common, and yet their origin is only poorly understood. Explanatory models of HFA have emphasized observational learning, parental cardiac disease, and the effects of separation experiences as key ethological factors. The purpose of this study was: (a) to provide descriptive information on the prevalence of HFA in an unselect sample of younger adults; and (b) to investigate the relation of HFA and general illness fears to parental medical history and different types of separation experiences. 421 undergraduate students completed the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), Illness Attitude Scales, Parental Medical History Questionnaire, and Separation Anxiety and Experience Questionnaire. Approximately 2-3% of our sample reported excessive HFA, and both illness attitudes and parental cardiac disease predicted 23% of total CAQ variance. Subjects with high CAQ scores reported more parental cardiac and other medical problems than low HFA subjects. Although high and low HFA subjects did not differ in terms of number of personal intimate relationships that ended in separation, subjects with separated parents reported more HFA than persons with nonseparated parents. We discuss the relevance of these findings for our understanding of HFA.

Panic attacks and interoceptive acuity for cardiac sensations.

It has been suggested that perception of visceral changes, and cognitive reactions to such changes, may be important for triggering panic attacks. It remains to be determined, however, whether people with panic attacks are actually characterized by enhanced perceptual acuity for interoceptive stimuli. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between panic attacks and awareness for cardiac sensations using an objective heartbeat discrimination procedure. Twenty panickers and 20 nonpanickers were given 60 trials of the Whitehead heartbeat discrimination procedure. Thirty trials were given during rest and 30 following hyperventilation. Results indicated that panic attacks were not related to enhanced interoceptive acuity for cardiac sensations, either at rest or following hyperventilation. These results are discussed in terms of their relevance to cognitive models of panic.

Cardiophobia: a paradigmatic behavioural model of heart-focused anxiety and non-anginal chest pain.

Cardiophobia is defined as an anxiety disorder of persons characterized by repeated complaints of chest pain, heart palpitations, and other somatic sensations accompanied by fears of having a heart attack and of dying. Persons with cardiophobia focus attention on their heart when experiencing stress and arousal, perceive its function in a phobic manner, and continue to believe that they suffer from an organic heart problem despite repeated negative medical tests. In order to reduce anxiety, they seek continuous reassurance, make excessive use of medical facilities, and avoid activities believed to elicit symptoms. The relationship of cardiophobia to illness phobia, health anxiety, and panic disorder is discussed. An integrative psychobiological model of cardiophobia is presented which includes previous learning conditions relating to experiences of separation and cardiac disease; deficient and inappropriate behavioural repertoires which constitute a psychological vulnerability for cardiophobic problems; negative life events, stressors, and conflicts in the person's present situation that trigger and contribute to the symptoms; current affective, cognitive, and behavioural symptoms and their stimulus properties; and genetic and acquired biological vulnerability factors. Finally, recommendations for the treatment of cardiophobia are derived from the model and areas of future research are outlined.

The cardiac anxiety questionnaire: development and preliminary validity.

Heart-focused anxiety (HFA) is the fear of cardiac-related stimuli and sensations because of their perceived negative consequences. Although HFA is common to a wide variety of persons who experience chest pain and distress, it often is unrecognized and misdiagnosed, particularly in cardiology and emergency room patients without and with heart disease. To address these concerns, this article reports on the development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) designed to measure HFA. In Study 1, 188 cardiology patients completed the CAQ. Item and factor analyses indicated a three-factor solution pertaining to heart-related fear, avoidance, and attention. Reliability analysis of the 18-item CAQ revealed good internal consistency of the total and subscale scores. In Study 2, 42 patients completed the CAQ and several other anxiety-related questionnaires to assess its convergent and divergent properties. Although preliminary validity results are promising, further psychometric study is necessary to cross-validate the CAQ, examine its test-retest reliability, and confirm the stability of the factor structure. Taken together, the CAQ appears to assess HFA, and may therefore be a useful instrument for identifying patients with elevated HFA without and with heart disease.

Panic disorder in the families of patients with normal coronary arteries and non-fear panic disorder.

Patients with non-fear panic disorder (NFPD) meet DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder, but do not report subjective fear or anxiety. Although apparently common in medical settings, this controversial group is in need of further diagnostic validation. This study assessed family history of panic disorder in patients with chest pain and normal coronary arteries (CP/NCA) and either NFPD, panic disorder with fear, or no panic. It was hypothesized that the two panic disorder groups would have similar, elevated rates of panic disorder in their first-degree relatives, compared to patients without panic. The results support the hypothesis; about 17% of the first-degree relatives of both NFPD and panic disorder patients were diagnosable with panic disorder according to proband interviews, whereas only 4.6% of the first-degree relatives of patients without panic were so diagnosable. These results support the diagnostic validity of NFPD in CP/NCA patients, because such patients had a family history of panic disorder similar to patients with a more classical panic disorder presentation. The lack of fear symptoms and behavior in NFPD may cause panic disorder to be overlooked as a potential cause of somatic symptoms in patients with no medical explanation for their condition.

More theory-driven and less diagnosis-based behavior therapy.

Individualized treatment based on a functional analysis of problem behavior used to be considered a hallmark of behavior therapy. Yet the relative success of recently developed treatment manuals for DSM-defined disorders has cast doubts as to whether treatment individualization is really necessary. This article evaluates some of the relative merits of assessments and manualized treatments based on DSM categories and discusses data that indicate when a protocol treatment approach is sufficient and when it is not. Finally, a theory-driven approach to conducting behavior therapy is proposed as a way to complement individualized and manualized treatments. This approach is illustrated by presenting a model-based assessment and treatment approach to overcome excessive heart-focused anxiety (cardiophobia).

Depression and chronic fatigue in the patient with heart disease.

Depression and chronic fatigue are frequently associated with heart disease. They may precede the onset of myocardial infarction, singly or together, and increase the morbidity and mortality of patients with a history of MI. Virtually all such patients have a transient depression, usually accompanied by anxiety, with onset soon after hospitalization. Although this depression is transient and usually abates spontaneously, it frequently warrants therapeutic intervention. Psychosocial and personality factors play a significant role in the recovery of a patient with a cardiac condition. The clinician must be alert for the effects of changing roles within the family and behaviors that may lead to chronic invalidism. Anxiety disorders, often combined with depression, may mimic cardiac disease and may result from it, leading to chronic fatigue and weakness. Proper diagnosis usually leads to considerable improvement. Cardiac drugs, in addition to many others, may produce depression and fatigue that may be misdiagnosed. Often, discontinuing or changing a medication will lead to marked diminution of such symptoms. Observational and listening skills are key ingredients of the "art" of medicine; they can lead to interventions that are not only therapeutic, but which improve the "quality" of life.