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Fear talk versus voluntary hyperventilation in agoraphobics and normals: a controlled study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Christopher Bass ,
Paul Lelliott  and
Isaac Marks
Christopher Bass*
Affiliation:
King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Maudsley Hospital, London
Paul Lelliott
Affiliation:
King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Maudsley Hospital, London
Isaac Marks
Affiliation:
King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Maudsley Hospital, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Christopher Bass, Kings College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS.
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Synopsis

Twenty-three drug-free patients with agoraphobia and panic disorder (DSM-III criteria) had, at rest, lower mean end-tidal PCo2 (32 v. 36 mmHg) and higher mean heart rate (92 v. 83 bpm) than did 18 controls. During 5 min of listening to fear talk, only eight (35 %) patients and three (16 %) controls panicked, but panic was associated with marked physiological changes in only two patients and one control. Patients said that breathlessness began slightly more often before than after panic. In 59 % of patients the symptoms from voluntary hyperventilation (VHV) were very similar or identical to those of their usual panics. Compared with the remainder, these patients felt more unpleasant during hyperventilation (HV); in such patients HV may aggravate somatic symptoms. Agoraphobics with panic differed from controls in having higher baseline arousal, but were not more reactive than controls to HV or fear talk.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , August 1989 , pp. 669 - 676
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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