Heart rate variability biofeedback in patients with functional dizziness.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Psychiatry
• Autonomic Neuroscience

Background:

• Functional dizziness is a common cause of chronic dizziness, often linked to autonomic nervous system imbalance and psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety.
• These comorbidities significantly impair quality of life in patients with functional dizziness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback in modulating autonomic function in patients diagnosed with functional dizziness.
• To assess the impact of HRV biofeedback on cardiac autonomic function, sympathetic vasomotor function, sympathetic skin response, and psychometric measures.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled study was conducted with 24 newly diagnosed functional dizziness patients.
• Participants received six 20-minute sessions of HRV biofeedback or served as a control group (no intervention).
• Assessments included HRV (time and frequency domains), sympathetic function tests, and psychometric evaluations at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at 3 and 6 weeks.

Main Results:

• The HRV biofeedback group demonstrated significant improvements in cardiac autonomic function, with elevated HRV time-dependent parameters (RMSSD, SDNN) and frequency-dependent parameters (LF) immediately post-intervention.
• Patients receiving HRV biofeedback also reported reduced depressiveness (BDI-II scores).
• No significant changes in dizziness symptoms or sympathetic function (vasculature, sweat glands) were observed in either group, and control patients showed no parameter changes.

Conclusions:

• HRV biofeedback shows potential for improving cardiac autonomic function in functional dizziness patients.
• The intervention effectively alleviated symptoms of depression in this patient group.
• The positive effects are likely mediated by a predominantly parasympathetic influence, suggesting a novel therapeutic approach for functional dizziness.