Background: Improving functional status and quality of life are important goals of treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis. The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) is a heart failure health status measure and has been used in studies of patients with aortic stenosis. However, its psychometric properties have not yet been evaluated in these patients.
Methods and results: We analyzed data from 955 patients, enrolled in the PARTNER trial of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, to evaluate the reliability, responsiveness, validity, and prognostic importance of the KCCQ in patients with severe aortic stenosis. The KCCQ was administered at baseline and at 1, 6, and 12 months after randomization to medical therapy, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or surgical valve replacement. Among clinically stable patients, there were only small changes in the KCCQ domain scores over time (mean differences 0.1-4.2 points), and the intraclass correlation coefficients showed good agreement between paired assessments (0.65-0.76). However, the domain scores of patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement showed large changes after treatment (mean differences 13-30 points). Construct validity was demonstrated by comparing each domain against a relevant reference measure (Spearman correlations 0.46-0.69). Finally, among 157 patients randomized to medical management, lower KCCQ overall summary scores at baseline were strongly associated with an increased risk of mortality during the following 12 months.
Conclusions: The KCCQ is a highly reliable, responsive, and valid measure of symptoms, functional status, and quality of life in patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis.