Great little video on the use of biofeedback by Henry Ford Health System in Michigan.
Heart Rate Articles
Biofeedback: Can you Teach your Body to lose Stress?
Thursday, October 20th, 2011Here is a great article from CNN related to biofeedback. Dr Gevirtz, Leherer and Peper offer their insight into how biofeedback and proper breathing (taught via biofeedback) can be used to reduce stress.
Biofeedback: Can you Teach your Body to lose Stress?
When it comes to stress relief methods for me, the devil is in the execution. More likely than not, I will stack whatever it is (or an article or book about it) on my bedside table and expect it to sink in through magic and osmosis. Alas …
I got a call early last week from my friend Parvathi, who works for a Washington clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive therapy for patients with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. “You need to check out some of these biofeedback devices for stress,” she said. “My doctor has a few of them in the office. He lends them out to patients who are having anxiety.”
I was skeptical. When I actually saw a picture of one of them, the question was obvious: How do you reduce stress by sticking your finger into a socket thingy and breathing for a while?
“Biofeedback is remarkable,” said Erik Peper, a San Francisco State University professor who has been involved in self-regulation and stress management for decades as both a teacher and a clinician.
He proceeded to lead me through a 30-second breathing exercise on the phone that left me lightheaded. “You see? Even small changes in your breathing can make a significant difference in your physiology — in your body, mind and emotions.”
Protocol for HRV Biofeedback manual cleanup using Kubios HRV
Thursday, October 13th, 2011The following is a paper on using Kubios HRV Analysis Software for viewing HRV Data from the J&J I330 – by Christina Huang – California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, CA
Protocol for Exporting J&J Data
1. After recording your session, exit out of J&J.
2. A small window will pop up in the middle of the screen asking you to select and name a client.
3. Click “Save to Database” and then “Export.”
4. A new window will pop up. On the top left, click on “HR/IBI” and make sure to double check where your file will be saved by clicking on the drop down menu. Also double check all the signals that will be exported in the bottom right hand side of the window.
5. Click ok. Your data should be exported in IBI format to the file you have chosen to save it in.
Protocol for HRV Biofeedback manual cleanup using Kubios HRV Read the rest of this entry »
Interview on NPR with Dr Herbert Benson MD
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Dr Herbert Benson was recently featured on NPR in an interview with Diane Rehm. Dr Benson talks about his new book the “The Relaxation Revolution”. In this interview Dr Benson discusses the connection between the mind and body . He also discusses the power of using relaxation techniques and visualization for stress, pain,hypertension and a variety of ailments.
He also discusses that there is scientific proof that a mind-body reaction can actually changing gene activity. Meaning with proper relaxation training you can actually reverse the negative effects of stress on gene activity. Listen to the full program here
Dr Benson was a catalyst to my personal interest in biofeedback and is part of the reason I work in the field of biofeedback. His studies on Tibetan monks in the 80s showed the ability of the monks to actually control their own body temperature.
Read the rest of this entry »
New Published Study Demonsrates Resperate Lowers Blood Pressure in Diabetic Patients
Monday, July 27th, 2009HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE REDUCTION IN DIABETICS WITH INTERACTIVE DEVICE-GUIDED PACED BREATHING: FINAL RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY
Moshe H Schein, MD1, Ariela Alter, PhD2, Simon Levine, MD3, Tuvia Baevsky, MD3, Alona Nessing, MD3, and Benjamin Gavish, PhD2. 1Family Medicine, Hadassah – Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, 2 InterCure Ltd, Lod, Israel and 3 Clalit Health Services, Tel-Aviv. Read the rest of this entry »
Published Study Demonstrates Over-the-Counter Device Lowers Blood Pressure in Diabetic Patients
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009New York, N.Y. – Mar 9, 2009 – InterCure Ltd. announced a new study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Human Hypertension. The study will also be published in the May issue of the journal, Volume 23, Issue 5. It demonstrates use of RESPeRATE—the only medical device cleared by the FDA and CE-approved for the adjunctive treatment of hypertension—for 15 minutes a day significantly lowered blood pressure in non-insulin dependent diabetics. This study reinforces nine previous studies that validate the efficacy of the device.
The randomized, controlled trial of 66 non-insulin dependent (Type II) diabetic patients with uncontrolled blood pressure was conducted by Moshe H. Schein, MBChB, M.S., Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center. Read the rest of this entry »
The Science Behind the emWave PC
Monday, May 28th, 2007The emWave PC Stress Relief System and the tools and techniques of the HeartMath system are based on over 15 years of scientific research on the psychophysiology of stress, emotions, and the interactions between the heart and brain.
The Heart–Brain Connection
Most of us have been taught in school that the heart is constantly responding to “orders” sent by the brain in the form of neural signals. However, it is not as commonly known that the heart actually sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends to the heart! Moreover, these heart signals have a significant effect on brain function—influencing emotional processing as well as higher cognitive faculties such as attention, perception, memory, and problem-solving. In other words, not only does the heart respond to the brain, but the brain continuously responds to the heart. Read the rest of this entry »
Accuracy of a wrist blood pressure monitor
Wednesday, April 30th, 2003The traditional way of measuring blood pressure uses a cuff that goes on the upper arm. Recently, wrist monitors have been introduced that are much smaller and easier to use than arm monitors. They also have the advantage that the same cuff size can be used in fat and thin people, because the diameter of the wrist is affected little by obesity, in comparison with the upper arm.
A study conducted in Switzerland compared the blood pressure measured by a wrist monitor (the Omron R3) with the traditional mercury sphygmomanometer measuring blood pressure from the upper arm, and a catheter placed directly in the artery, which is the ‘gold standard’ of blood pressure measurement. It was done in 100 patients who were undergoing catheterization of their hearts, which entailed measurement of blood pressure from inside the major arteries. It was found that the wrist monitor gave readings that were a little closer to the pressure measured directly from the artery than the readings given by the mercury sphygmomanometer. Read the rest of this entry »
Cardiac
Tuesday, August 27th, 2002Heart rate studies are replete in the autonomic modification literature. It has been possible to produce significant heart rate level changes in even a single session, although it has been easier to get increases than decreases. There is a great deal of evidence to show that subjects can quite easily produce voluntary changes in both heart rate level and variability in multiple sessions (Engel and Hansen, 1966: Hnatiow and Lang, 1965). Heart rate training with premature ventricular contractions, atrial fibrillations and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome have been investigated (Engel, 1972). Heart rate feedback along with desensitization and implosion has been applied successfully to the management of anxiety about the heart (Wilkramaskera, 1974).
Clinically, heart rate training may be applicable in cardiac arrhythmias of many causes. The method involves an alternation of heart rate speeding and slowing, and, for obvious reasons, is best done in an in-patient coronary care setting.
Study: Depression Key For Heart
Monday, August 26th, 2002By TROY GOODMAN Associated Press Writer
DALLAS (AP) — Heart patients with chronic depression are three times more likely to suffer a second heart attack within a year of their first one, a study found.
Short-term depression is common after a heart attack. The new findings suggest, however, that if depression lingers and there is no support from family, friends or mental health professionals, a second heart attack is likely.
“It’s that chronic depression that’s so troubling — about half of them remain depressed,” said lead researcher Nancy Frasure-Smith of the Montreal Heart Institute. “That’s not something that just goes away.”
The study was published in Monday’s issue of Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.
The researchers surveyed 887 people who had suffered heart attacks. About a third reported lingering depression after their attacks. Within a year, 7.5 percent of those died of heart disease compared with 2.5 percent of those with short-term depression.
Sarah Knox of the National Institutes of Health said the findings are further proof that the psychological health of heart patients is just as important as their physical health.
In a study released in August, Carnegie Mellon University researchers found that patients with lower measures of self-esteem, optimism and feelings of control were more likely to experience a second blockage within six months than those with better attitudes.
The 300 subjects in the Carnegie Mellon study had undergone an angioplasty, in which a balloon is used to clear a blockage in a blood vessel.
