Abstract

Background: Anxiety disorders are becoming a common mental health problem in our society. This could be attributed to the law and order situation and the socioeconomic problems faced in our social setup. However, very few people are aware of the factthatthesedisorders,ifnottreatedproperlyintime,cangiverisetomajorcardiovascularhealthproblemssuchasmyocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, and even coronary heart diseases. Sympathetic inhibition is reported as a common associated finding.Aimsand
Objective:Tostudyinvolvementofautonomicnervousfunction,particularlysympatheticinManipuripatients with anxiety disorders.
Materials and Methods: Sympathetic function was tested for 38 patients with anxiety disorders and 30 age- and sex-matched normal healthy (control) subjects by using a battery of two tests, that is, (1) change in systolic blood pressureonsuddenstandingand(2)changeindiastolicbloodpressureonisometrichandgriptest.ApparatususedwasPolyrite. Result: Both values of the parameters were comparatively lower in patients, although it was statistically significant only in the former.Conclusion: Patients with anxiety disorders are usually associated with sympathetic inhibition making them vulnerable to different cardiovascular disorders such as myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, and coronary heart diseases.