Biofeedback on heart rate can reduce alcohol craving: Study

A randomized clinical trial (RCT) has found that by monitoring their heart rates via biofeedback, patients in early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) can reduce craving and negative affect, and also substance use. The heart rate variability feedback (HRVF) innovation focused on negative affect, positive affect, craving, and substance use for this second-generation RCT. For the study, “Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback for Substance Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” researchers randomized 120 individuals to receive either HRBV plus treatment as usual, or treatment as usual only. The patients receiving HRBV had significant reductions in negative affect and craving, and a significantly lower proportion of alcohol use days. “Mechanistic findings suggest that HRVB practice may disrupt moment-level associations between craving and substance use, highlighting its potential as an adjunctive SUD treatment,” the researchers concluded. “Given its apparent utility, safety, and low cost, future phase 3 trials should further explore HRVB treatment for SUD.” The study, by David Eddie, Ph.D. and colleagues, was published online October 1 in JAMA Psychiatry.