Neck-focused panic attacks among Cambodian refugees; a logistic and linear regression analysis.

Consecutive Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic were assessed for the presence and severity of current--i.e., at least one episode in the last month--neck-focused panic.

The Khmer 'Weak Heart' Syndrome: Fear of Death from Palpitations.

According to the Khmer conception, a person suffering 'weak heart' (khsaoy beh daung) has episodes of palpitations on slight provocation (e.g. triggered by orthostasis, anger, a noise, worry, an odor or exercise) and runs the risk of dying of heart arrest during these periods of palpitations; too, the sufferer typically has other symptoms attributed to the purported cardiac dysfunction: fatigue, shortness of breath, and orthostatic dizziness.

Kyol Goeu ('Wind Overload') Part I: A Cultural Syndrome of Orthostatic Panic among Khmer Refugees.

Certain cultural syndromes seem to increase the risk of panic attacks by generating catastrophic cognitions about symptoms of autonomic arousal. These schemas create a constant anxious scanning of the body, hence facilitating, maintaining, and producing panic. As a case in point, a Khmer fainting syndrome,'wind overload' (kyol goeu), results in dire expectations concerning the autonomic symptoms experienced upon standing, thus contributing to the high rate of orthostatically induced panic observed in this population.

Kyol Goeu ('Wind Overload') Part II: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Mechanisms of Kyol Goeu and Near-Kyol Goeu Episodes of Khmer Patients Attending a Psychiatric Clinic.

Kyol goeu (literally, 'wind overload') is an orthostatically triggered syncopal syndrome often found among Khmer refugees in the US. In the present study, 36 of 100 (36%) Khmer patients attending a psychiatric clinic were found to have suffered a kyol goeu episode in the past, whereas 60 of 100 (60%) patients had experienced a near-kyol goeu event in the last six months. Following a survey-based characterization of kyol goeu, as well as the presentation of case vignettes, the article discusses six mechanisms resulting in the high prevalence of the syndrome.