Eight weeks of device-guided slow breathing decreases sympathetic nervous reactivity to stress in posttraumatic stress disorder.

ABSTRACT: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by increased risk for developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease. We recently showed that device-guided slow breathing (DGB) acutely lowers blood pressure (BP) and muscle sympathetic activity (MSNA) and improves baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in PTSD. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term benefits of DGB on autonomic function at rest and during stress. We hypothesized that long-term DGB improves arterial BRS and lowers BP and MSNA in PTSD. Twenty-five veterans with PTSD were studied and randomized to either 8 wk of daily DGB (n = 12) or 8 wk of sham device (Sham; n = 13). BP, heart rate (HR), and MSNA were measured at rest and during mental math. Arterial BRS was assessed using the modified Oxford techniq

SUBMITTER: Fonkoue IT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7642907 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature