Somatic awareness and coronary artery disease in women with chest pain.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if there was a relationship between level of somatic awareness and coronary artery disease (CAD) in women with chest pain.


METHODS
Descriptive, correlational study.


METHODS
Urban, university-affiliated, tertiary care hospital.


METHODS
Fifty-five women without a previous history of heart disease admitted to the hospital for evaluation of chest pain.


METHODS
Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ); Patterson and Horowitz clinical criteria for classification of chest pain; Supplemented Rose Questionnaire for angina; age; and CAD risk factors.


RESULTS
A small but significant inverse correlation was found between level of somatic awareness as measured by MSPQ scores and degree of CAD (r = 0.2932, p < 0.05). MSPQ scores significantly differed between women with CAD (lower scores) and women without CAD (higher scores) (p < 0.05). MSPQ score was the most important factor in a logistic regression model that modestly but significantly predicted presence or absence of CAD.


CONCLUSIONS
Somatic awareness may be an important factor to consider in evaluating the awareness and response of women to symptoms of myocardial ischemia and to chest pain of both cardiac and noncardiac etiologies.
Warner
C D
CD
Emory Heart Center, Emory University System of Health Care, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016387:Women's Health