[Heart rate and blood pressure are not good parameters to evaluate preoperative anxiety.]

Surgical patients are subject to different levels of preoperative distress. Anxious patients may present unfavorable psychophysical reactions, such as hypertension and tachycardia. This study aimed at evaluating the level of preoperative anxiety in a population of surgical patients, and at detecting heart rate and blood pressure changes and their relationship with age, gender, education and previous surgical experience.

Participated in this randomized study 145 adult patients of both genders, physical status ASA I - III, perfectly oriented in time and space, literate and scheduled for elective surgeries, to whom the Amsterdam preoperative anxiety questionnaire was applied during preanesthetic evaluation. Patients with scores > 11 were considered anxious. Age, gender, education, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, previous surgical experience and history of hypertension were recorded.

Sixty-nine patients (47.58%) were considered anxious, while 76 (52.41%) were considered not anxious. There were no significant differences between anxious and non-anxious patients in age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate. Among anxious patients 68.12% were females and 31.88% were males (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in education, previous surgical experience and history of hypertension between anxious and non-anxious patients.

Heart rate and blood pressure do not reflect the level of preoperative anxiety. Females are more anxious then males in the preoperative period.