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Objectives: This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Mandarin version of the HeartQoL questionnaire, a core ischemic heart disease (IHD) health-related quality of life (HRQL) instrument, in patients with angina, myocardial infarction (MI), and ischemic heart failure (IHF)., Methods: The English version of HeartQoL was translated into Mandarin. A cross-sectional study was then conducted in mainland China using the Mandarin HeartQoL, Short Form-12 Health Survey, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Factor analysis was used to establish the HeartQoL structure and internal consistency reliability and construct validity were assessed., Results: Patients with IHD (n = 412; angina = 112, MI = 151, and IHF = 149) were enrolled. Significantly higher HeartQoL HRQL scores were reported by patients with either angina or MI than by patients with IHF. The 2-factor structure was confirmed by Mokken scale analysis in the total group with strong H coefficients on the global scale (0.64) and both the physical (0.70) and emotional (0.80) subscales. Internal consistency reliability was strong with Cronbach's α ranging from 0.90 to 0.95. Convergent validity was confirmed with strong correlations between similar physical and mental HeartQoL and Short Form-12 Health Survey subscales ranging from 0.77 to 0.82 with divergent validity confirmed with significantly lower correlations between dissimilar constructs. Discriminative validity was confirmed for 72% of the a priori sociodemographic and clinical hypotheses., Conclusions: The Mandarin version of the HeartQoL HRQL questionnaire demonstrates acceptable internal consistency reliability and convergent, divergent, and discriminative validity in patients with IHD and in each diagnostic subgroup. The data support the use of the HeartQoL to assess and compare HRQL in Mandarin-speaking patients with IHD., (Copyright © 2022 International Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To perform a psychometric evaluation of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale (MIDAS) in Chinese patients with coronary heart disease., Design and Setting: Patients with angina (n=162), MI (n=124) or heart failure (n=95) were recruited from a regional university-affiliated hospital. The Chinese version of the MIDAS (C-MIDAS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) were administered to all patients at baseline and the C-MIDAS was also administered seven day (n=92) and three months (n=363) later., Results: The C-MIDAS conforms to the 7-factor structure as proposed in the original version. It is reliable with Cronbach's alphas from 0.73 to 0.94 and test-retest reliabilities from 0.76 to 0.92. Four of its subscales (physical activity, insecurity, emotional reaction and dependency) correlated significantly with the SF-36 and the HADS in each diagnostic group and had good discriminative properties in terms of gender, emotional disturbance and perceived health deterioration, with responsiveness supported by medium-high effect sizes (0.43-0.83) and standardize response means (0.46-0.82). The other three subscales measuring treatment-related impacts added little to the validity and responsiveness of the C-MIDAS., Conclusion: To render the C-MIDAS a core health-related quality of life measure for Chinese-speaking patients with coronary heart disease, further studies need to clarify the content adequacy and cultural relevancy of those subscales measuring treatment-related impact.

Unlabelled: To estimate age group differences in the prevalence and outcomes of three common and often comorbid metabolic conditions (i.e., obesity, hypertension, and diabetes) and heart disease., Design: Nationally representative prospective cohort study., Setting: PARTICIPANTS' homes., Participants: 9825 adults aged 51 to 61 years (middle-age) in 1992, and 7370 adults aged 70 years and over (older-age) in 1993., Measurements: Two-year dichotomous outcomes included: doctor visits, hospitalization, mobility difficulty, activity of daily living limitation, poor perceived health, and mortality. Odds ratios (OR) were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and history of cancer or lung disease., Results: Those with one condition represented 80% and 70% of the middle- and older-age groups, respectively, while just 1-2% of each age group reported all three metabolic conditions. Thirteen percent and 32%, respectively, reported heart disease with or without metabolic conditions. Diabetes comorbid with other metabolic conditions, and particularly with heart disease, substantially elevated the risk of adverse outcomes such as health-related quality of life deficits, health services use, and mortality in both middle- and older-age adults. In the middle-age group, the OR was 6.81 for mortality in patients with a combination of obesity and diabetes and 6.10 in those with a combination of heart disease and diabetes. There also were significant ORs for mortality in middle-aged patients with heart disease (OR = 2.40), diabetes (OR = 2.63) and for those with a combination of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes (OR = 3.26)., Conclusion: The impact of these often comorbid conditions underscores the importance of targeted and aggressive prevention, particularly among middle-age adults.

The purpose of this study was to develop an objective instrument to measure changes in quality of life of spouses of post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients, and to determine its responsiveness and validity. A 70-item list of potential areas of concern was compiled; the 25 most frequent and important concerns comprised the framework of the final questionnaire. The questions on the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cardiac Spouses (QL-SP) were categorized into the Emotional Function Dimension (EFD), and the Physical and Social Function Dimension (PSFD). Subjects (n = 39) completed the QL-SP and a battery of established questionnaires at home, 1-2 weeks post-hospital discharge for the patient, and 8 weeks later. Scores on the QL-SP between visits were improved for both the EFD (t = 5.56, p less than 0.001), and the PSFD (t = 6.11, p less than 0.001). The agreement between predicted and observed relationships between the dimension changes and other index changes, as measured statistically by a kappa with Cicchetti weights, was significant (kappa w = 0.43, p = 0.0012). The QL-SP appears to be responsive and valid, and may be useful in evaluating clinical and research intervention strategies.

Although the intensity of training in an exercise program is important, social environment and selection of activities are the factors that enhance patient compliance. Motivation of patients may be the single most important factor in a cardiac rehabilitation program. Such a program must recognize individual needs, set goals, permit opportunities for choice, provide feedback, and have a functioning reward system.