PSYCHOSOCIAL CORRELATES OF CHEST PAIN AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN

While 10-30% of individuals with chest pain who undergo cardiac arteri ography are found to have no demonstrable pathology, women are far mor e likely than men to have normal coronary arteries in the presence of angina. Black women, in particular, frequently seek medical attention for persistent episodes of chest pain. This cross-sectional study was designed to examine the potential role of psychological and social fac tors in relation to chest pain among black women. Among our population -based sample of 188 women, 48% reported experiencing chest pain. Seve nteen of these cases met the Rose criteria for classification as cardi ac pain while 74 of them reported pain not consistent with cardiac ori gin. A statistically significant difference was observed in the stress scores among the women; the highest stress scores occurred among thos e with Rose angina and the lowest scores were obtained from those wome n reporting no chest pain experiences (p <0.001). There was no associa tion detected between the presence and type of chest pain and psychoso cial measures of depression and coping abilities. These results confir m the high rates of chest pain experienced among black women, and prov ide insight into the role of psychological factors that should be cons idered in the identification of treatment options.