Key result
Elevated resting heart rate 1 week after severe traumatic brain injury was associated with subsequent PTSD diagnosis at 6 months, which occurred in 23% of the overall cohort.
Why the study?
Does elevated resting heart rate predict posttraumatic stress disorder in patients with severe traumatic brain injury?
Cohort (n=68)
Does elevated resting heart rate predict posttraumatic stress disorder in patients with severe traumatic brain injury?
Elevated resting heart rate at 1 week post-injury is associated with subsequent PTSD development in severe TBI patients, though this relationship is confounded by initial injury severity.
Does not yet support heart rate–guided PTSD screening after severe TBI; leaves open independent prediction beyond injury severity.
Objective: This study indexed the relationship between resting heart rates (HRs) after injury and subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients who sustained severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Patients who sustained a severe TBI (N = 68) had their resting HR assessed 1 week and 1 month after injury, and they were assessed for PTSD 6 months after injury with the PTSD Interview, a structured clinical interview based on the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition, Revised. Results: PTSD was diagnosed in 23% of patients. PTSD participants had higher HRs at 1 week but not at 1 month after trauma than non-PTSD participants. This difference remained significant when the effect of posttraumatic amnesia was controlled, but it was not significant when the effect of Glasgow Coma Scale was controlled. Conclusion: These findings accord with the proposal that fear conditioning can occur outside the level of awareness and contribute to PTSD development. PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder; HR = heart rate; TBI = traumatic brain injury; PTA = posttraumatic amnesia; GCS = Glasgow Coma Scale; PTSD-I = Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Interview; SD = standard deviation.
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Bryant et al. (2004) conducted a cohort in Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) (n=68). Elevated resting heart rate vs. Lower resting heart rate was evaluated on Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis at 6 months. Elevated resting heart rate 1 week after severe traumatic brain injury was associated with subsequent PTSD diagnosis at 6 months, which occurred in 23% of the overall cohort.
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