Cardiac Neurosis: The Psychological Impact of Self-Perceived Heart Disease
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Introduction Cardiac neurosis, also termed cardiophobia or heart anxiety, is characterized by persistent fear and misinterpretation of normal cardiac sensations as symptoms of heart disease, despite the absence of clinical evidence. This psychosomatic condition is associated with significant anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints, often leading to unnecessary medical consultations. The current study explored the psychological impact of self-perceived heart disease, emphasizing the relationship between cardiac-focused anxiety, generalized anxiety, and lifestyle disruptions in individuals without a verified cardiac diagnosis. Methods A cross-sectional, quantitative study design was employed with 100 adults aged 45 and above who reported concerns about heart health. Data were collected using standardized tools such as the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and SF-36 Health Survey. Participants completed a structured questionnaire via Google Forms. Analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY), utilizing correlation, ANOVA, and independent t-tests, with p-values <0.05 considered significant. Results The results demonstrated a significant positive correlation between generalized anxiety and cardiac anxiety (r = 0.595, p < 0.001), as well as between cardiac anxiety and physical health-related role limitations (r = 0.555, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that individuals with higher anxiety are more likely to perceive physical constraints associated with heart-related symptoms. The age-wise comparison revealed that participants aged 76 and above reported the highest levels of generalized anxiety (M = 16.11, SD = 4.83) and cardiac anxiety (M = 45.22, SD = 6.36), both with statistically significant group differences (F(3,96) = 7.48, p < 0.05; F(3,96) = 7.21, p < 0.05 respectively). Marital status also showed a notable effect: divorced individuals exhibited significantly higher generalized anxiety (M = 14.81, SD = 4.83) than single or married individuals (F(2,97) = 12.94, p < 0.05), along with elevated cardiac anxiety levels. These results collectively underscore the role of age and psychosocial context in shaping anxiety related to perceived heart health. Conclusion Cardiac neurosis is associated with a substantial psychological burden, including heightened anxiety, poor health perception, and reduced functionality. Despite the absence of cardiac pathology, individuals experience distress comparable to clinical cardiac patients. Early psychological screening and integrated mental health care are essential for effective management.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".