Women More Likely To Have Long-Term Anxiety After Cardiac Arrest Than Men: Study

A study revealed that women are more likely to have long-term anxiety after cardiac arrest than men. More than 40 percent of women reported anxiety four months after a cardiac arrest, as compared to 23 percent of men.

The study was presented at the ESC Acute Cardiovascular Care 2023 which is a scientific meeting organised by the European Society of Cardiology.

Dr Jesper Kjaergaard, the author of the study said that cardiac arrest may occur with little to no symptoms before it, and it's quite common to feel anxious after it. He also added that after the initial shock most of the patients and their families may have a sudden change in their lifestyle with medical examinations to determine the real cause of cardiac arrest and in a few cases diagnosis of the condition that requires treatment, Which can cause anxiety and stress.

Women Cardiac Arrest

The author of the study also focused on the point that women are more affected psychologically as compared to men and might need and be targeted for some extra support. The condition of Cardia arrest causes every 1 in 5 deaths in industrialised countries around the globe. In this condition, the heart unexpectedly stops pumping blood and if not restored in a few minutes the individual passes out and dies within 10–15 minutes. About less than 10 percent of all the people who have experienced cardiac arrest survive to the point of hospital discharge.

Depression and anxiety are frequently associated with critical illness and are closely associated with reduced quality of life in the person who suffered it and their relatives. The study also assessed how prevalent depression, anxiety as well as PTSD which stands for post-traumatic stress disorder in survivors of cardiac arrest, it also examined in detail if the severity of the symptoms is different for men and women.

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Between the years 2016 and 2021, the study enrolled a total of 245 patients who recently survived cardiac arrest and were admitted to the hospital in the case of a coma. Approximately 18 percent of all the people in the study were women. Psychological symptoms of a condition were assessed in a duration of a four-month follow-up appointment. Depression and anxiety were measured with the help of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Participants gave a score of 0 to 3 for how often, or strongly they experienced 14 conditions like "I get sudden feelings of panic", for a total of 0 to 21 for the state of anxiety as well as 0 to 21 for the case of depression.

The scores ranging between 8 and 10 indicate borderline depression or anxiety attacks while 11 or higher indicate the proper state of anxiety or depression. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were assessed with the help of a PCL-5 checklist. 7 patients rated 20 symptoms from 0 to 4 which was not at all too extreme for a total score of 0 to 80, with 31 to 33 indicating the condition of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The results showed that anxiety and depression scores were much higher in women as compared to men, while anxiety scores of 8 or more were observed in 40 percent of all the women participants and just 23 percent of men. This shows women in general had significantly higher levels of post-traumatic stress disorder when compared with men but In both the cases of men and women, anxiety was correlated with PTSD symptoms.

The author of the study claimed the study concluded that the traumatic effects of cardiac arrest persist for a long time and that anxiety and depression were more common in women survivors than in men. Patients should be encouraged to seek help from their healthcare providers in such conditions.