Psychosomatic Medicine 8:332-337 (1946)
© 1946 American Psychosomatic Society

An Electrocardiographic Study of Psychoneurotic Patients

¹ Cardiovascular Department, Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago

A comparison between electrocardiographic abnormalities found in psychoneurotic patients with those of large groups of individuals known to be free of organic heart disease was made.

There is no combination of abnormalities which fits a distinct pattern characterizing this group electrocardiographically.

There is a tendency for about 12 per cent of these cases to present a right heart strain pattern. This is suggested by the tall P waves, right axis shift and S-T depressions in the limb leads.

Deep S₂ waves as an isolated abnormality occurred almost as frequently as in routine electrocardiograms of normal young individuals.

Flat or inverted T waves in leads I and II occurred about fifteen times as frequently in psychoneurotic patients as in a large group of young, healthy aviators.

S-T depressions of at least 0.5 mm. in leads I and II occurred about six times more frequently in these patients as compared with normal individuals.

Note:
Aided by the Emil and Fanny Wedeles Fund for Cardiovascular Research. The department is supported in part by the Michael Reese Research Foundation.