Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback for Mental Health Treatment: A Policy Brief

Abstract

The WHO argues that a pharmacy-first approach should no longer be the reflexive treatment for mental health diagnoses. Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) demonstrably treats various conditions—especially effective at regulating emotion, particularly managing and alleviating anger, stress, anxiety, and depression, common co-morbid diagnoses for rehabilitation medicine patients. HRVB trains users to study their biofeedback data in real time, alter bodily functions previously believed to be automatic, and garner health benefits. Despite convenience, relatively low cost, and empowering patients to manage their own symptoms, the current lack of reimbursability, and the lack of Phase III RCTs limit HRVB application. Ideally, the confidence of practitioners, patients, and insurers would follow the known efficacy of HRVB for the treatment of mental health conditions.

Association of vagally mediated heart rate variability at work with exhaustion: The importance of trait neuroticism.

“…Given that RESE-NE is a malleable cognitive structure relatively easy to target in interventions (see Bandura, 1997), self-efficacy seems a promising avenue for helping workers dealing with high neuroticism levels. Likewise, HRV could also be directly targeted, as past research has shown that meditation practices as well as slow breathing exercises could improve HRV and cardiac activity (for a meta-analysis, see Laborde et al, 2022; Shearer et al, 2016), as well as biofeedback training (Kim, 2023).…”