Abstract / Summary
Background and Objective: Patients undergoing cardiac procedures and surgery may experience substantial psychological distress related to their illness, anticipated procedure, anaesthesia, potential complications, and recovery. Preoperative anxiety may influence perioperative experience and recovery. This study assessed the severity and distribution of anxiety symptoms and examined their association with selected demographic and clinical characteristics among patients undergoing cardiac procedures and surgery. Methods: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 adults undergoing scheduled cardiac procedures or surgery at a tertiary-care hospital in South India. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the 7-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety subscale (HADS-A). Demographic and clinical variables, including age, sex, procedure type, procedural invasiveness and previous cardiac intervention, were recorded. Because the HADS-A distribution deviated from normality, non-parametric methods were used for inferential analysis, including the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman rank correlation. Results: The mean HADS-A score was 9.56 ± 3.25, with a median of 9.50 and a range of 0–18. Eight participants (16.0%) had scores in the normal range, 24 (48.0%) had borderline/doubtful scores, and 18 (36.0%) had scores in the probable-anxiety range. Thus, 42 participants (84.0%) had HADS-A scores ≥8, indicating at least borderline/elevated anxiety symptoms. Female participants had higher anxiety scores than male participants (11.20 ± 2.31 vs 8.86 ± 3.36; Mann-Whitney U = 142.50, p = 0.011). Participants undergoing major invasive procedures also had higher anxiety scores than those undergoing minimally invasive procedures (11.90 ± 3.11 vs 8.98 ± 3.04; Mann-Whitney U = 320.50, p = 0.0033). No significant association was observed between age and HADS-A score (Spearman ρ = −0.058, p = 0.688) or between previous cardiac intervention and anxiety score (Mann-Whitney U = 290.50, p = 0.681). Conclusion: Elevated anxiety symptoms were common among patients undergoing cardiac procedures and surgery in this tertiary-care cohort. Higher anxiety scores were observed among women and patients scheduled for major invasive procedures. Routine assessment of anxiety may help identify patients who could benefit from targeted preoperative information and psychological support.