6533b85cfe1ef96bd12bc0fe
RESEARCH PRODUCT
The cardiac anxiety syndrome ? a subtype of panic attacks
Wolfgang MaierOtto BenkertR. BullerHubert Riegersubject
AdultMalemedicine.medical_specialtyNeurosisPhobic avoidancebehavioral disciplines and activitiesManuals as TopicInternal medicinemental disordersmedicineHumansPharmacology (medical)Biological PsychiatryDepression (differential diagnoses)Neurocirculatory AstheniaPsychiatric Status Rating ScalesDepressive Disorderbusiness.industryGeneral NeurosciencePanic disorderPanicFearGeneral Medicinemedicine.diseasePanicPsychiatry and Mental healthNeuropsychology and Physiological PsychologyPhobic DisordersChronic Diseasecardiovascular systemAnxietyFemalemedicine.symptombusinessSomatizationAnxiety disorderClinical psychologydescription
Cardiac anxiety syndrome and the diagnosis of cardiac neurosis respectively are characterized by panic attacks. Panic attacks are the core syndrome of a validated anxiety disorder (panic disorder). The purpose of this study was to investigate if the cardiac anxiety syndrome represents a separate disorder or if it is only a subtype of panic attacks. In a sample of 122 patients with panic attacks, all patients with a cardiac anxiety syndrome were selected (n = 31). Furthermore, parallel to this group--matched in the variables age and sex--a second group of patients with no cardiac anxiety syndrome was selected. There were no significant differences in course; in clinical phenomenology, patients with a cardiac anxiety syndrome were only distinguished by a greater intensity of somatization and phobic avoidance from patients with no cardiac anxiety syndrome. These results confirm the hypothesis that the cardiac anxiety syndrome is a subtype of panic attacks and does not represent a separate disorder.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-12-01 | European Archives of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences |