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Sheikh SAA, Shah AJ, Bremner JD, Vaccarino V, Inan OT, Clifford GD, Rad AB. Impedance cardiogram based exploration of cardiac mechanisms in post-traumatic stress disorder during trauma recall. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14488. [PMID: 37986190 PMCID: PMC10939951 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an independent risk factor for developing heart failure; however, the underlying cardiac mechanisms are still elusive. This study aims to evaluate the real-time effects of experimentally induced PTSD symptom activation on various cardiac contractility and autonomic measures. We recorded synchronized electrocardiogram and impedance cardiogram from 137 male veterans (17 PTSD, 120 non-PTSD; 48 twin pairs, 41 unpaired singles) during a laboratory-based traumatic reminder stressor. To identify the parameters describing the cardiac mechanisms by which trauma reminders can create stress on the heart, we utilized a feature selection mechanism along with a random forest classifier distinguishing PTSD and non-PTSD. We extracted 99 parameters, including 76 biosignal-based and 23 sociodemographic, medical history, and psychiatric diagnosis features. A subject/twin-wise stratified nested cross-validation procedure was used for parameter tuning and model assessment to identify the important parameters. The identified parameters included biomarkers such as pre-ejection period, acceleration index, velocity index, Heather index, and several physiology-agnostic features. These identified parameters during trauma recall suggested a combination of increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and deteriorated cardiac contractility that may increase the heart failure risk for PTSD. This indicates that the PTSD symptom activation associates with real-time reductions in several cardiac contractility measures despite SNS activation. This finding may be useful in future cardiac prevention efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shafa-at Ali Sheikh
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - Amit J. Shah
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- Veterans Affairs Health Care System, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
| | - J. Douglas Bremner
- Veterans Affairs Health Care System, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Viola Vaccarino
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Omer T. Inan
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - Gari D. Clifford
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Ali Bahrami Rad
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
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Sheikh SAA, Alday EAP, Rad AB, Levantsevych O, Alkhalaf M, Soudan M, Abdulbaki R, Haffar A, Smith NL, Goldberg J, Bremner JD, Vaccarino V, Inan OT, Clifford GD, Shah AJ. Association between PTSD and Impedance Cardiogram-based contractility metrics during trauma recall: A controlled twin study. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14197. [PMID: 36285491 PMCID: PMC9976595 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an independent risk factor for incident heart failure, but the underlying cardiac mechanisms remained elusive. Impedance cardiography (ICG), especially when measured during stress, can help understand the underlying psychophysiological pathways linking PTSD with heart failure. We investigated the association between PTSD and ICG-based contractility metrics (pre-ejection period (PEP) and Heather index (HI)) using a controlled twin study design with a laboratory-based traumatic reminder stressor. PTSD status was assessed using structured clinical interviews. We acquired synchronized electrocardiograms and ICG data while playing personalized-trauma scripts. Using linear mixed-effects models, we examined twins as individuals and within PTSD-discordant pairs. We studied 137 male veterans (48 pairs, 41 unpaired singles) from Vietnam War Era with a mean (standard deviation) age of 68.5(2.5) years. HI during trauma stress was lower in the PTSD vs. non-PTSD individuals (7.2 vs. 9.3 [ohm/s2 ], p = .003). PEP reactivity (trauma minus neutral) was also more negative in PTSD vs. non-PTSD individuals (-7.4 vs. -2.0 [ms], p = .009). The HI and PEP associations with PTSD persisted for adjusted models during trauma and reactivity, respectively. For within-pair analysis of eight PTSD-discordant twin pairs (out of 48 pairs), PTSD was associated with lower HI in neutral, trauma, and reactivity, whereas no association was found between PTSD and PEP. PTSD was associated with reduced HI and PEP, especially with trauma recall stress. This combination of increased sympathetic activation and decreased cardiac contractility combined may be concerning for increased heart failure risk after recurrent trauma re-experiencing in PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shafa-at Ali Sheikh
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | | | - Ali Bahrami Rad
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Oleksiy Levantsevych
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Mhmtjamil Alkhalaf
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Majd Soudan
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Rami Abdulbaki
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Ammer Haffar
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | | | | | - J. Douglas Bremner
- Veterans Affairs Health Care System, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Viola Vaccarino
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Omer T. Inan
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
| | - Gari D. Clifford
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Amit J. Shah
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- Veterans Affairs Health Care System, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
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Bakkum L, Oosterman M, Verhage ML, Kunseler FC, Fearon RMP, Schuengel C, Duschinsky R. Psychophysiological responses underlying unresolved loss and trauma in the Adult Attachment Interview. Dev Psychopathol 2020;:1-16. [PMID: 33168119 DOI: 10.1017/S0954579420001492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Unresolved loss/trauma in the context of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) has been theorised to result from dissociative processing of fear-related memories and ideas. To examine the plausibility of this model, this study tested hypothesised associations between unresolved loss/trauma and indicators of autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity. First-time pregnant women (N = 235) participated in the AAI while heart rate (interbeat interval; IBI) and indicators of parasympathetic reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and sympathetic reactivity (pre-ejection period; PEP, skin conductance level; SCL) were recorded. Using multilevel modelling, ANS reactivity was examined in relation to topic (loss/trauma versus other questions); discussion of actual loss/trauma; classification of unresolved/disorganised; and unresolved responses during the interview. Responses to loss/trauma questions and discussion of loss were associated with respectively larger and smaller IBIs. There was no moderation by unresolved/disorganised status. Unresolved responses about loss were associated with smaller IBIs. Participants classified as unresolved/disorganised showed decreasing PEP and blunted SCL throughout the whole interview. The findings suggest that unresolved speech about loss co-occurs with physiological arousal, although the inconclusive findings regarding parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system responses fail to clearly support the role of fear.
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