minxy
10-27-2007, 05:29 PM
Some theories behind panic attacks
Hyperventilation and panic have been the subject of research for some time. Some researchers theorize that people with panic disorder may hyperventilate more easily then others, and, therefore, the hyperventilation itself causes panic attacks. Other researchers believe that people with panic disorder are more psychologically sensitive to breathing difficulties, such as hyperventilation, and this sensitivity, along with the thoughts that follow, cause the panic attack. Yet another theory is that people with panic disorder are physiologically sensitive to changes in carbon dioxide levels, such as with hyperventilation, and these changes may trigger panic attacks.
With these theories in mind, researchers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, set out to study hyperventilation in 25 people with panic disorder.
Additionally, the researchers were curious about theories of panic disorder running in families, so 31 healthy first-degree relatives of the panic disorder patients also participated in the study. A control group of 26 people who had no personal or family history of panic disorder also participated. Among other requirements, participants were not permitted to take psychotropic medications within one week of the study.
The study itself consisted of a hyperventilation challenge test which all participants underwent. For 4 minutes, researchers induced hyperventilation (30 breaths per minute) for each participant. Before and after the test, participants completed questionnaires about anxiety and panic attacks. Respiratory frequency, pulse and blood pressure were also tested before and after the test.
After reviewing the results, the researchers found that many more participants with panic disorder experienced panic attacks (44.0%) in response to the hyperventilation test than the first-degree relatives (16.1%) or the control subjects (11.5%). All participants did record an increase in anxiety during the challenge test. The researchers made the following conclusions:
"There is no association between a family history of panic disorder and hyperreactivity to" hyperventilation. However, researchers did point out that this may be because only healthy first-degree relatives were permitted to participate.
People with panic disorder show more sensitivity to hyperventilation; therefore, the study supports the suffocation false alarm theory which proposes that panic disorder patients are hypersensitive to changes in carbon dioxide levels.
People with panic disorder may falsely interpret physical changes caused by hyperventilation leading to a full-blown panic attack.
The researchers ultimately concluded that further research is necessary, particularly of "a large number of patients" in order to better understand "the neurobiologic vulnerabilities of panic disorder patients."
Reference: Nardi AE, Valenca AM, Nascimento I, Mezzasalma MA, Lopes FI, Zin WA (2000), Hyperventilation in panic disorder patients and healthy first-degree relatives. Braz J Med Biol Res 33: 1317-1323.
thanks,
minxy.
Hyperventilation and panic have been the subject of research for some time. Some researchers theorize that people with panic disorder may hyperventilate more easily then others, and, therefore, the hyperventilation itself causes panic attacks. Other researchers believe that people with panic disorder are more psychologically sensitive to breathing difficulties, such as hyperventilation, and this sensitivity, along with the thoughts that follow, cause the panic attack. Yet another theory is that people with panic disorder are physiologically sensitive to changes in carbon dioxide levels, such as with hyperventilation, and these changes may trigger panic attacks.
With these theories in mind, researchers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, set out to study hyperventilation in 25 people with panic disorder.
Additionally, the researchers were curious about theories of panic disorder running in families, so 31 healthy first-degree relatives of the panic disorder patients also participated in the study. A control group of 26 people who had no personal or family history of panic disorder also participated. Among other requirements, participants were not permitted to take psychotropic medications within one week of the study.
The study itself consisted of a hyperventilation challenge test which all participants underwent. For 4 minutes, researchers induced hyperventilation (30 breaths per minute) for each participant. Before and after the test, participants completed questionnaires about anxiety and panic attacks. Respiratory frequency, pulse and blood pressure were also tested before and after the test.
After reviewing the results, the researchers found that many more participants with panic disorder experienced panic attacks (44.0%) in response to the hyperventilation test than the first-degree relatives (16.1%) or the control subjects (11.5%). All participants did record an increase in anxiety during the challenge test. The researchers made the following conclusions:
"There is no association between a family history of panic disorder and hyperreactivity to" hyperventilation. However, researchers did point out that this may be because only healthy first-degree relatives were permitted to participate.
People with panic disorder show more sensitivity to hyperventilation; therefore, the study supports the suffocation false alarm theory which proposes that panic disorder patients are hypersensitive to changes in carbon dioxide levels.
People with panic disorder may falsely interpret physical changes caused by hyperventilation leading to a full-blown panic attack.
The researchers ultimately concluded that further research is necessary, particularly of "a large number of patients" in order to better understand "the neurobiologic vulnerabilities of panic disorder patients."
Reference: Nardi AE, Valenca AM, Nascimento I, Mezzasalma MA, Lopes FI, Zin WA (2000), Hyperventilation in panic disorder patients and healthy first-degree relatives. Braz J Med Biol Res 33: 1317-1323.
thanks,
minxy.