Level of Anxiety Among the Cardiac Patients Attending at a Selected Specialized Public Hospital in Bangladesh

Abstract

Clinicians have long recognized mental health issues in patients with heart conditions, such as those who have heart attacks, heart failure, and systemic hypertension, especially in those who are admitted to the coronary care unit. This study was designed to assess the level of anxiety among cardiac patients. This descriptive type of cross-sectional study was conducted among 238 cardiac patients attending at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka, Bangladesh from December 2022 to January 2023. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. HADS scale was used to measure anxiety level. The mean age of the participants was 48.34 (±7.928) years. HADS measurement found that 37% of participants had diagnostic anxiety, 28% had moderate anxiety and 35% cardiac patients had no clinical symptoms of anxiety. Chi-square test analysis also revealed that eating fast-food, less physical activity, high blood pressure, blood cholesterol level, overweight and history of heart diseases were significantly associated with anxiety among cardiac patients (P<0.05). Mental health services should integrate with cardiac rehabilitation programs and health care workers should take extra care for cardiac patients to identify mental health disabilities among the cardiac patients.