Purpose: To explore the state of mental treatment, heart rate variability (HRV), level of aggressive behavior, and their relationships among hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.
Design and methods: This study adopted a follow-up design and convenience sampling. Thirty-three subjects completed the questionnaire, and their HRV indices were measured.
Findings: Patients' psychiatric symptoms showed a significant downward trend after hospitalization (P = .003). The standard deviation of the normal-to-normal intervals in the morning was significantly correlated with overall aggression, physical aggression, and verbal aggression.
Practice implications: HRV can be regularly monitored among inpatients with schizophrenia with a risk of high aggression as an indicator of possible aggressive behavior.
Keywords: acute ward; aggressive behavior; heart rate variability; schizophrenia.
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.