Articles Vol. 67 No. 9 25/09/2026

CARDIOVASCULAR SYMPTOM CHARACTERISTICS IN PATIENTS WITH GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH, BACH MAI HOSPITAL

Duong Danh Khai, Tran Thi Ha An
DOI: 10.52163/yhc.v67i9.6743
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Abstract

Objective: To describe cardiovascular symptom characteristics (prevalence, frequency, and severity) in inpatients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bach Mai Hospital, 2025–2026.

Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study on 139 GAD inpatients (F41.1, ICD-10) at NIMH, August 2025 – May 2026. Data were collected via structured clinical interviews and analysed with SPSS 20.0.

Results: Of 139 patients (73.4% female; mean age 52.10 ± 13.28 years), 71.2% had at least one cardiovascular symptom. The three most prevalent were tachycardia (63.3%), palpitations (62.6%), and dizziness/presyncope (57.6%). Among those with cardiovascular symptoms, the mean number of symptoms was 4.72 ± 1.07. Palpitations were the highest symptom rated as severe (29.9%).

Conclusion: Cardiovascular symptoms are highly prevalent in hospitalised GAD patients. Systematic assessment of these symptoms and exclusion of organic cardiac disease should be integrated into routine clinical evaluation.

Keywords
generalized anxiety disorder, cardiovascular symptoms, palpitations.
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