Heart-focused anxiety before and after cardiac surgery

We investigated the degree and course of heart-focused anxiety (HFA) in patients with cardiac diseases before and after cardiac surgery. We examined 90 patients undergoing coronary bypass, valve replacement, or combined surgery before surgery, 6 weeks after surgery, and 6 months after surgery. Patients completed the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), which assesses heart-focused fear, attention, and avoidance, and a set of other questionnaires...