title: Cardiac genetic testing: a single-center pilot study of a Dominican population.
abstract: The impact of undergoing genetic testing in a Dominican population is not well understood. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the psychological well-being and perceived cardiac risk among Dominicans who underwent genetic testing. Participants completed a qualitative interview and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire after cardiac genetic testing. There were 31 subjects evaluated (mean age 42 ± 11 years). Participants revealed three common themes: (a) fear of dying prematurely, (b) guilt of possibly passing on a mutation to their children, and (c) fear of having an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock. Physical components of the SF-36 were within normal limits (46.2 ± 6.6) but elevated for mental components (59.9 ± 5.3). The quality of life and specific themes results determined in this investigation warrant further research in the Dominican population.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: Jacquelyn Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Sciacca
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aboelela
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Ashton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frulla
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001290:Attitude; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D004293:Dominican Republic; D004644:Emotions; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006167:Guilt; D006262:Health; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D009518:New York; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires