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Cardiac anxiety in people with and without coronary atherosclerosis

Craig D Marker1, Cheryl N Carmin, Raymond L Ownby

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. marker@nova.edu

Depression and Anxiety
|June 29, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Cardiac anxiety, a common condition without heart disease, involves four key factors: attention, avoidance, worry, and reassurance-seeking. Individuals without coronary atherosclerosis report higher attention and worry related to cardiac symptoms.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cardiology
  • Health Psychology

Background:

  • Cardiac anxiety, anxiety related to heart symptoms, is prevalent and costly, especially when not associated with coronary artery disease.
  • The Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) is an 18-item self-report measure designed to assess anxiety concerning cardiac symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the underlying structure of cardiac anxiety using factor analysis.
  • To determine if the factor structure of the CAQ is consistent across individuals with and without coronary atherosclerosis.

Main Methods:

  • Factor analysis was performed on data from 658 individuals referred for electron beam tomographic screening.
  • The CAQ data was analyzed to identify distinct factors of cardiac anxiety.
  • Factorial invariance was assessed between groups with and without coronary atherosclerosis.

Main Results:

  • A four-factor solution best represented cardiac anxiety: heart-focused attention, avoidance of symptom-provoking activities, worry/fear about symptoms, and reassurance-seeking.
  • The factor structure of the CAQ remained consistent across individuals with and without coronary atherosclerosis.
  • Individuals without diagnosed coronary atherosclerosis exhibited significantly higher scores on the attention and worry/fear factors.

Conclusions:

  • Cardiac anxiety can be reliably measured using a four-factor structure.
  • Individuals experiencing cardiac anxiety without diagnosed coronary atherosclerosis demonstrate heightened attention and worry regarding their symptoms compared to those with the condition.

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