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Abnormal ECG Patterns in Chronic Post-War PTSD Patients: A Pilot Study

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Abstract

Background

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric syndrome associated with high levels of sympathetic activation of the autonomic nervous system. Individuals diagnosed with PTSD have a high propensity for electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities, atrioventricular conductive defects, and cerebrovascular incidents.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate ECG abnormalities in post-war PTSD patients.

Method

This pilot study compared patients diagnosed with chronic post-war PTSD (n = 30) to patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 24) and healthy controls (n = 20). Following the completion of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID), participants were assessed with a standard 12-lead ECG.

Results

ECG abnormalities were observed in 66.7% of PTSD patients and 70.8% of MDD patients. In contrast, only 28.6% of the healthy control group showed ECG abnormalities. Multivariate logistic regression was used to adjust for participants' sex, smoking rate, education level, disease duration, and marital status. The results indicated that PTSD and MDD patients were more likely to have ECG abnormalities than the normal population (odds ratio for PTSD = 12.7, 95% confidence interval 1.9–83.9; and odds ratio for MDD = 14.9, 95% confidence interval 1.3–170.5).

Conclusion

PTSD and MDD patients showed elevated rates of ECG abnormalities compared to healthy controls. These findings have important implications for the medical treatment of PTSD and MDD given that both of these patient groups appear to be at increased risk of cardiovascular disorder.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from Department of Research, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (research no. 84054). Authors had full access to data (including statistical reports and tables) in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Conflict of interest

None to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sleep Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Farabi Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), PO Box 6719851151, Kermanshah, Iran

    Habibolah Khazaie, Mahin Ahmadi, Ali Akbar Parvizi, Sara Samadzadeh & Masoud Tahmasian

  2. Department of Cardiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Saidi

  3. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Population Health, Kermanshah Health Research Center (KHRC), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran

    Farid Najafi

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada

    Amir Ali Sepehry

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    David C. Knight

Authors
  1. Habibolah Khazaie
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  2. Mohammad Reza Saidi
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Correspondence to Habibolah Khazaie.

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Khazaie, H., Saidi, M.R., Sepehry, A.A. et al. Abnormal ECG Patterns in Chronic Post-War PTSD Patients: A Pilot Study. Int.J. Behav. Med. 20, 1–6 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-011-9197-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-011-9197-y

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