The validation of a new quality of life questionnaire for patients with congestive heart failure–an extension of the Cardiac Health Profile

OBJECTIVE: To study the validity and reliability of the new disease-specific extension of the CHP, Cardiac Health Profile congestive heart failure (CHPchf), used to assess QoL specifically for patients with heart failure. METHODS: Eighty-three consecutive patients with chronic heart failure were enrolled. Criteria and construct validity were studied by correlating the Global Mean Score (GMS) for the CHPchf with the total sum score of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) and other measures predicted to correlate with QoL. Reliability was evaluated on the basis of internal consistency. RESULTS: Significant correlations for CHPchf were found with MLHFQ (r=0.76, p= <0.0001), the Boston Heart Failure Score (BHFS) (p<0.001), the generic second section of the CHP, maximal workload at exercise test (p<0.05) and the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification (p<0.01). Cronbach's alpha was calculated to 0.82. CONCLUSIONS: CHPchf was shown to be valid and reliable. CHPchf has favourable psychometric properties. Further studies are needed to explore its discriminative abilities.