Gender specific variations in the description, intensity and location of angina pectoris: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Some research suggests that men and women may experience Angina Pectoris (AP) differently. More research is needed to characterize AP symptoms by gender and to familiarize health care providers with them, to enable proper education, diagnostic evaluation and timely management. OBJECTIVE: This study examines gender differences in the description, intensity and location of AP in patients with CHD. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was performed to compare AP patients according to gender. SETTINGS: This study was performed on patients residing in Tehran, who were being treated in a hospital and were admitted to cardiac units. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred patients with AP were selected. The participants were patients with AP who were diagnosed with CHD based on documented results from an angiography. METHOD: Outpatients who were admitted to the cardiac units were screened. Informed consent was obtained from all study participants, who then completed the Iranian version of the AP characteristics questionnaire. RESULTS: Women were significantly more likely to feel pain in the left arm and hand, odds ratio 1.5 (95% CI=1.0-2.1, P=0.04), left scapula, odds ratio 2.3 (95% CI=1.6-3.5, P<0.001), and neck, odds ratio 2.8 (95% CI=1.9-4.1, P<0.0001), while controlling for demographic and clinical factors. Women were significantly more likely to choose the possible pain descriptors for describing their AP and reported significantly greater intensity than men for all the pain descriptors. Significantly higher scores for sensory, affective, total and NRS (Numeric Rating Scale) scores were observed in women (P<0.001). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that gender remained a statistically significant predictor of pain scores and NRS, while controlling for demographic and clinical factors. CONCLUSION: Women and men differ with respect to description, intensity and location of AP. Educating the general public and informing health care providers about gender variation in AP may help to decrease delays in seeking medical care.

Adaptation and validation of the Iranian version of Angina Pectoris characteristics questionnaire.

Research aimed at evaluating Angina Pectoris (AP) symptoms in patients with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) requires a comprehensive assessment tool applicable to this population. Because no single existing measure assessed the full range of symptom characteristics important to our study, we combined two measures (the modified Rose Questionnaire (MRQ), and the Short Form-McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and added one item to examine specific aspects of AP symptoms (Accompanying Symptom Checklist). The purposes of this study are: (i) to describe the process of translating the SF-MPQ, MRQ and accompanying symptom checklist from English to the Farsi language; and (ii) to evaluate substantial psychometric works (content and construct validity) for the entire instrument and each part of it (SF-MPQ, MRQ and accompanying symptom checklist). A cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument was carried out before developing the final version of it. To these ends, one hundred and 10 CHD patients with AP were assessed by this hybrid measure in an initial study. An analysis of the results indicated that a content valid instrument had been developed. There was a significantly high correlation between scores in the SF-MPQ and there were associations between items in the MRQ. The Iranian version of AP characteristics questionnaire is valid; it is capable of describing characteristics of AP symptoms. However, the reliability of the instrument needs to be assessed through further research.