One-year follow-up of cardiac anxiety syndromes. Outcome and predictors of course.

In a representative sample (n = 31) of patients with panic attacks and a cardiac anxiety syndrome, a prospective follow-up study after a 1-year interval was performed. At the follow-up assessment 33% of the patients were in remission, whereas the majority of patients had an unfavorable course. Avoidance behavior and female sexual status were found to be predictive for an unfavorable course. Within a matched-pair design controlled for age and sex, no difference between panic disorder with and without cardiac anxiety syndrome was observed in any psychosocial or psychopathological outcome variable. This result is an argument against the validity of the subtype cardiac anxiety syndrome.