Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation: a Sub‐Saharan African perspective

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are a well‐established cause of death in high‐income countries. In the last 20 years, Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) has seen one of the sharpest increases in cardiovascular disease‐related mortality, superseding that of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, in South Africa. This increase is evidenced by a growing burden of heart failure and atrial fibrillation (AF) risk factors. AF is a common comorbidity of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), which predisposes to an increased risk of stroke, rehospitalizations, and mortality compared with patients in sinus rhythm. AF had the largest relative increase in cardiovascular disease burden between 1990 and 2010 in SSA and the second highest (106.4%) increase in disability‐adjusted life‐years (DALY) between 1990 and 2017. Over the last decade, significant advancements in the management of both HFrEF and AF have emerged. However, managing HFrEF/AF remains a clinical challenge for physicians, compounded by the suboptimal efficacy of guideline‐mandated pharmacotherapy in this group of patients. There may be an essential role for racial differences and genetic influence on therapeutic outcomes of HFrEF/AF patients, further complicating our overall understanding of the disease and its pathophysiology. In SSA, the lack of accurate and up‐to‐date epidemiological data on this subgroup of patients presents a challenge in our quest to prevent and reduce adverse outcomes. This narrative review provides a contemporary overview of the epidemiology of HFrEF/AF in SSA. We highlight important differences in the demographic and aetiological profile and the management of this subpopulation, emphasizing what is currently known and, more importantly, what is still unknown about HFrEF/AF in SSA.

Editors' highlight picks from 2023 in ESC heart failure

“…For example in Sub-Saharan African, the incidence of previously rare forms of cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary artery disease, is increasing, in concert with historically prevalent forms of disease, such as rheumatic heart disease that are yet to be optimally eradicated. 1 In Asia, the evidence on the risk factors for incident HF was limited in the past. Now, the Circulatory Risk in Communities Study, involving 5335 Japanese, showed that high body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, diabetes current smokers emerged as important contributors.…”