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Heart-Focused Anxiety in Patients With Noncardiac Chest Pain: Structure and Validity

Jared I Israel1, Kamila S White2, Courtney C Farmer2

  • 1University of Missouri-St. Louis, MO, USA jared.israel@umsl.edu.

Assessment
|August 15, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Heart-focused anxiety (HFA) is a significant concern for individuals with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP). The Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) effectively measures HFA in this population, aiding in understanding and treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cardiology
  • Psychometrics

Background:

  • Heart-focused anxiety (HFA) is a debilitating fear of cardiac sensations, often linked to catastrophic health worries.
  • Individuals with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) are disproportionately affected by HFA.
  • The Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) is a tool developed to assess HFA.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of the CAQ.
  • To confirm the CAQ's utility in assessing HFA within a sample of NCCP patients.

Main Methods:

  • The study involved 229 adults diagnosed with NCCP.
  • Psychometric properties and factor structure of the CAQ were analyzed.
  • Concurrent validity was assessed using measures of pain-related interference and healthcare utilization.

Main Results:

  • The CAQ demonstrated good psychometric properties for measuring HFA in NCCP patients.
  • A four-factor model (fear of sensations, avoidance, attention, reassurance seeking) best fit the CAQ data.
  • CAQ subscales showed associations with pain interference and healthcare use, supporting concurrent validity.

Conclusions:

  • The CAQ is a valuable instrument for assessing HFA in individuals with NCCP.
  • Findings support the use of the CAQ in clinical settings for NCCP patients.
  • The study provides a foundation for developing targeted treatments for HFA in this population.

Keywords:
Cardiac Anxiety Questionnairehealth care utilizationheart-focused anxietynoncardiac chest painpain-related impairment

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