Reliability of the McSweeney Acute and Prodromal Myocardial Infarction Symptom Survey among black and white women.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates are higher among women, particularly black, than men. Women's mortality rates may reflect difficulty in recognizing CHD prodromal symptoms (PS) but reliable screening instruments for women are scarce. The McSweeney Acute and Prodromal Myocardial Infarction Symptom Survey (MAPMISS) captures women's PS presentation, but has limited testing among black women.

Aim: To assess the test-retest reliability of the MAPMISS PS section for black and white women.

Methods: The sample was recruited from women enrolled in a longitudinal study examining the predictive validity of the MAPMISS. The MAPMISS was re-administered to 42 women (22 white, 20 black) 3-5 days after baseline assessment.

Results: Women endorsed an average of 7.5 PS (SD 4.8; range 0-20) initially and 7.6 (SD 4.7; range 0-20) at retest. Over half of the women (54.8%) of both races endorsed the same number of PS at test and retest; for 69%, the number endorsed at both testings differed by no more than one. Percentage agreement and kappa statistics on the number ofPS endorsed were excellent overall and by race. PS test and retest scores, reflecting PS intensity and frequency, were highly correlated overall (r = 0.92, p < 0.001) and separately for white (r = 0.93, p < 0.001) and black women (r = 0.91,p < 0.001). Racial differences were insignificant.

Conclusions: Findings indicate (i) the MAPMISS PS score has excellent test-retest reliability (r = 0.92) when administered to women without a history of CHD, and (ii) test-retest reliability is as strong for black (r = 0.91) as for white women (r = 0.93).