Prevalence of angina pectoris in Spain

The frequency of coronary heart disease in a community is usually measured by myocardial infarction incidence and mortality rates. The measurement of the prevalence of angina pectoris may, however, become a convenient way of assessing coronary heart disease morbidity in the future. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of angina and validity of the Rose questionnaire in the Spanish population aged from 45 to 74 years. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 10,248 subjects (45-74 years), representative of the Spanish population. The WHO Rose questionnaire was used and a construct validation against regional mortality rates and cardiovascular risk factor prevalence was devised. The overall angina prevalence increased with age both in men and women, but was higher in the latter (7.3% and 7.7%, respectively). Angina prevalence also increased with the number of cardiovascular risk factors present and correlated with regional CHD mortality rates (r = 0.66). Sensitivity and specificity results of the Rose questionnaire were low when tested against exercise test (52.9% and 52.1%, respectively). As conclusions, Rose questionnaire is a reliable tool for assessing angina prevalence in the Spanish population which is similar to that of other industrialized countries with higher myocardial infarction morbidity and mortality.