A Cardiac Depression Visual Analogue Scale for the brief and rapid assessment of depression following acute coronary syndromes

Objective: A Cardiac Depression Visual Analogue Scale (CD-VAS) was developed as a rapid and easy method of assessing depressed mood in a cardiac population. The CD-VAS was contrasted against the Cardiac Depression Scale (CDS) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Method: Depression was assessed in 58 participants, 2 weeks postacute coronary syndrome (ACS), using the BDI-II and the CDS. Participants then completed the six-item CD-VAS for 14 consecutive days. Results: Using mean weekly scores, the CD-VAS had strong internal reliability (.91) and strong test-retest reliability that ranged from .85 to .97. Principal components analyses found that the CD-VAS only measured one component. The CD-VAS had strong concurrent validity with the BDI-II (r=.81) and the CDS (r=.82) and was able to differentiate between depressed and nondepressed participants. Conclusion: The CD-VAS is a valid and reliable measure for brief and rapid repeated assessments of depressive symptoms in a cardiac population.