Measuring Cardiac Health Knowledge

A Cardiac Knowledge Questionnaire has been developed for the purpose of measuring knowledge about (1) the cardiovascular system and the nature of coronary heart disease (the Basic Cardiac Knowledge Scale), (2) behavioural aspects of the causes and the consequences of a heart attack (the Cardiac Lifestyle Knowledge Scale), and (3) prognostical implications of a heart infarction (the Cardiac Misconceptions Scale). A validation procedure established the two former scales as measures of factual health knowledge, whereas the Cardiac Misconceptions Scale was identified as a measure of the subjective beliefs about the severity of a heart attack. A short educational course for heart patients resulted in improved average scores in all three scales. Expert panels of cardiologists and cardiac nurses rated knowledge about cigarette smoking, physical reactivation, and the relationship between angina pectoris and myocardial infarction as the most relevant topics for heart patients. The Cardiac Knowledge Questionnaire offers possibilities for a more detailed examination of cardiac patients' illness perceptions, and should also be valuable in evaluating patient education efforts.