Physicians of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recruited 134 adult patients with congenital heart disease to fill out checklists for symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression.
Here are five key points:
1. Among the patients studied, 27 of them met the criteria for PTSD, but only one person had a clinical diagnosis of the disorder on their medical chart.
2. Only 11 people in the group total were receiving mental health treatment at all.
3. In another measure of PTSD that 127 patients completed, researchers found 11 percent had symptoms that could be linked directly to heart problems. Almost all of the patients had gone through cardiac surgery or other invasive procedures.
4. In comparison, 3.5 percent of the general population shows signs of PTSD.
5. For future studies, researchers hope to look at not only how many people have PTSD, but how the disorder endures and progresses over time.
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