Biofeedback – A Promising Non Pharmacological Tool of Stress – Related Disorders

Biofeedback is a therapeutic method of obtaining better awareness of physiological functions based on principles of operant conditioning and learning in general. While patient observes changes in physiological parameters in real-time (e.g. blood pressure, heart rate variability, temperature, electrodermal activity, etc.), he/she learns how to manipulate them at will. By means of this technique, individuals can improve their mental, emotional, and physical health. Clinical biofeedback training becomes popular for treating a variety of medical conditions, manage ment of disease symptoms, and improvement of overall health through training of stress management. There is no center or group to systematically deal with biofeedback methods in Slovakia, except the Slovak Institute of CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy) that teaches biofeedback as a therapeutic method. However, biofeedback and its opportunities have a relatively long history of exploration and practice, which is the best precondition for positive changes in this area. The review article aims to provide an insight to biofeedback training as a non-pharmacological therapeutic tool in stress management and stress-related diseases and disorders. The article also describes biofeedback modalities and efficacy on various medical conditions

Sympathetic nervous system and cardiovascular risk in mitral valve prolapse

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) represents a frequent cardiovascular condition associated with increased cardiovascular risk, which may have progressive course and become malignant. Dysregulation of autonomic nervous system - especially sympathetic overdrive – is one of the factors considered to play a key role in its aetiology and development. There is a growing evidence of a large impact of sympathetic system on the development of MVP. Exaggerated sympathetic activity may lead to morphologic changes in valves tissue such as thickening and redundancy. Nowadays, few investigative methods are known for evaluation of the regulatory state of sympathetic nervous system, which could be, theoretically, used to identify the subjects with sympathetic overactivity associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. Electrodermal activity or blood pressure variability represent promising non-invasive methods for evaluation of the regulatory outputs of sympathetic nervous system. There is a possibility to extend a set of investigative methods in MVP and include the monitoring of sympathetic activity in the assessment of cardiovascular risk. This article summarizes knowledge about pathogenesis, diagnostic and therapeutical approaches of MVP, and brings some novel insights on the parameters of autonomic nervous regulation, which haven’t yet been used in cardiovascular risk assessment in MVP