CLINICAL RECOVERY FROM PANIC DISORDER IS ASSOCIATED WITH EVIDENCE OF CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR REGULATION

Cardiovascular measures (spectral derivatives of heart rate variability, the blood pressure response to standing and plasma noradrenaline levels) have been shown to change as clinical recovery follows the treatment of panic disorder patients with either imipramine or cognitive therapy. These findings can be interpreted as evidence of changes in baroreflex modulation, an important feature of the cardiovascular expression of arousal. This offers further evidence of a dysregulation of arousal in this disorder.