Electrocardiogram,
Vectocardiogram and Body Surface Maps in Patients
with Panic Disorder
K.
PIŠVEJCOVÁ, I. PACLT, J. SLAVÍČEK1,
O. KITTNAR1,
A. DOHNALOVÁ1, E. KITZLEROVÁ
Department of Psychiatry and 1Institute
of Physiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles
University, Prague, Czech Republic
Received January 18, 2000
Accepted November 5, 2001
Summary
An increased risk of myocardial ischemic
changes was demonstrated in patients suffering
from panic disorder (PD). Using classical ECG
methods, this risk cannot be evaluated in most
patients. We measured the vectocardiogram (VCG)
using Frank orthogonal leads and body surface
maps (BSM) including 12-lead ECG. In our study of
11 PD patients (2 men, 9 women), without any
seizures and pharmacological treatment and
without cardiovascular symptoms, we found marked
sinus tachycardia (heart rate 90.1±12.2 min-1)
and a shorter R-R interval (678±93.6 ms) than in
27 controls (heart rate 73.6±7.7min-1, R-R
822.7±86.4 ms) (5 men, 22 women) (p<0.001).
The VCG measured spatial QRS-STT angle was more
opened (70.3±24.5°) than in the control group
(49.5±19.5°) (p<0.05). The maximum
(extremum) in depolarization (DIAM max 30, 40)
and repolarization (RIAM max 35) of body surface
isoarea and isointegral (RIIM max) maps was less
positive (p<0.001) and the minimum (DIAM min
40) was less negative than in the controls
(p<0.05) even in the period free of a panic
attack. Our results showed the changes in the
heart electric field parameters occurred in PD
patients when compared to the control group.
Key
words
Panic
disorder · ECG · VCG · Body surface maps
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MUDr. K. Pišvejcová, Department of Psychiatry,
First Medical Faculty, Charles University, Ke
Karlovu 11, 120 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
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