Meta-Analysis of Heart Rate Variability as a Psychophysiological Indicator of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a com¬mon mental health problem among combat veterans. PTSD is a psychiatric condition that can develop after exposure to extremely stressful life events. It is characterized by more than 1 month of re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyper-arousal symptoms. The current combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistann have resulted in a considerably large number of veterans with mental health problems.

Diagnoses of mental health conditions among active duty service members due to the psychological toll of exposure to violent conflict have increased substantially, due in part to increased and improved screening methods as well as Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment that in the past might have dissuaded service members from reporting mental health concerns or accessing care. PTSD is not limited to veterans who experience combat trauma.

PTSD is considered the fourth most common psychiatric diagnosis, affecting 10% of all men and 18% of all women.Studies of psychophysiological correlates of PTSD in the past have typically involves facial electromyography (EMG; muscle contractions), heart rate (HR; cardiac activity), skin conductance (SC; sweat gland activity), systolic blood pressure (SBP; the force of blood in the circulatory system when the heart contracts), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; the force of blood in the circulatory system when the heart is at rest). Heart rate variability (HRV) is a relatively new psychophysiological measure.