Dimensions of the Somatic Health Complaints Questionnaire (SHCQ) in a sample of myocardial infarction patients.

A short health complaints measure may provide information on the degree of recovery from acute myocardial infarction. The present study therefore evaluated a questionnaire-called the Somatic Health Complaints Questionnaire (SHCQ)-that includes 13 items concerning health problems common in cardiac patients. The sample included 114 patients in total, 37 women and 77 men, who had suffered a first-time myocardial infarction 5months prior to the testing. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine whether the factor structure replicated the hypothesized hierarchical model. The results indicated that SHCQ represents four dimensions: breathlessness, fatigue, pain and unrest. It was also found that SHCQ may be treated as one general concept. It is a brief and easily administered questionnaire and may therefore be a useful tool in secondary prevention work, identifying patients at risk for possible negative consequences of a first-time myocardial infarction.