Pattern of cardiovascular admissions at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, South East Nigeria

Abstract

IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the top killer diseases in the world sparing neither developed or developing countries. The study was carried out to determine the pattern of cardiovascular admissions at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi South East Nigeria.MethodsThe study was a retrospective study covering the period January 2007 to December 2009. SPSS version 13 software was used to analyze data.Results537 (15%) patients were admitted into the study out of 3546 patients {females 1756 and 1790} admitted into medical wards. 322 (60%) of study population were males and 215 (40%) females. 359(67.5%) were discharged, 170 (32%) died and 8 (0.5%) were discharged against medical advice. The majority of the deaths 105(61.8%), were in patients with CVA. Most of the deaths (111 or 65.3%) occurred within the first seven days of admission. The mean age of the population was 60.7 years ±15.9 with a range of 18 to 110 years. The length of stay in hospital ranged between 1 and 140 days with a mean of 13.5 ± 13.9 days and a median of 10 days. 33 of the subjects were single, 406 were married, 94 were widowed (11 males and 83 females) and 4 were divorced. 46.7% (251) were admitted for CVA and 30.9% (166) for heart failure. Cardiomyopathy/valvular heart diseases (clinical diagnosis due to absence of echocardiography) constituted 3.9%, hypertension 20.5% and pre-existing hypertension with uremia 1.9%.ConclusionThe study has shown that cardiovascular disease contributed significantly to medical admissions the elderly accounting for a significant proportion. There is thus the need for intensification of primary preventive strategies for cardiovascular diseases.

Trends in cardiovascular diseases and associated risks in sub-Saharan Africa: a review of the evidence for Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania

“…Moreover, as life expectancies rise due to economic development, CVDs prevalence is increasing, presenting new pressure on already struggling health systems. We found that hypertension, the major risk condition for CVDs, was most prevalent among the three CVDs risk conditions studied in our review [9,28,32]. However, a high prevalence of diabetes and overweight/obesity was reported as well [9,15,23,37].…”

“…Major findings reported in the review. ,13,14,[17][18][19][20][21][27][28][29][30][33][34][35][36]39,40,42,44,46,[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] Significant in some group 28[8,9,12,[14][15][16]20,[23][24][25][26][27]29,31,32,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42]45,47,48,…”

Data on the epidemiology of heart failure in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…All discrepancies the selection of studies were resolved through discussion or with the arbitrage of a third investigator. A total of 35 studies were included in this review [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] . A summary of the selection process is presented in the Fig.…”

Heart Failure in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…It is commoner between the third and fifth decade of life when the individuals are in the prime of their life. The mean age ranges from 36.5 to 61.5 years (Figure 2A) [15,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. In high-income countries, it is commoner in the seventh decade of life.…”