Journal of the American Heart Association, Volume 15, Issue 6 , March 17, 2026. BackgroundSpontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a highly distressing cause of acute myocardial infarction.
No SCAD‐specific distress measure currently exists, with researchers relying on generic measures of anxiety, depression, and distress that fail to capture the psychological impacts unique to SCAD. We developed and validated the SCAD Distress Inventory (SDI) to provide a condition‐specific distress measure.MethodsThe SDI was developed through a multistep process.
First, 48 SCAD‐related distress items were generated from focus groups with SCAD survivors (N=30) and relevant literature. Items were administered online to survivors of SCAD (N=293, angiography‐confirmed), who also provided sociodemographic and medical data and completed validated psychological instruments.
Exploratory factor analysis identified underlying dimensions within the item pool and Rasch analysis confirmed dimensionality and refined the scale.
Journal of the American Heart Association published a clinical update in Cardiology on 13 Mar 2026.
The item focuses on Development and Validation of a Measure of Psychological Distress After Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: The Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Distress Inventory.
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