Background: Epidemiologic transition of diseases is taking place globally. Therefore, it is necessary that more work is done to unravel the situation in respect to cardiac diseases in the developing world;Aim: The res...Background: Epidemiologic transition of diseases is taking place globally. Therefore, it is necessary that more work is done to unravel the situation in respect to cardiac diseases in the developing world;Aim: The research was conducted to ascertain the cardiac causes of death in adults and by extension to further unravel the epidemiologic transition in relation to cardiac diseases in the developing world. Materials and Methods: This is an autopsy study of adult cardiac related causes of death in the year 2010 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, West Africa. It was conducted based in a 700-bedded hospital that has a catchment area of about 15 million people. Patients’ data (including bio-data, causes of death, etc.) were extracted from autopsy records for the year 2010. The data were entered and analysed with SPSS software. Results: There were 789 autopsies in the year and 99 of deaths were cardiac-related. There was male preponderance with a mean age of 54.2 ± 1.568 years. Hypertensive heart disease was the primary disease in 97.0% of cases in the studied sample. One 76 year old adult had myocardial infarction. There was no case of adult congenital heart disease. Intracerebral haemorrhage was the commonest cause of death. Discussion and Conclusion: Cardiovascular diseases constitute a growing threat to health among Africans. The developing countries are in stages II and III of Omran epidemiologic transition of diseases. This presents a major challenge to a large proportion of the world population with additional problem of poverty and ignorance. A 4-point agenda is suggested to reduce incidence of cardiovascular diseases (and deaths) in the developing world.展开更多
Background: The spectrum and incidence of congenital heart diseases amongst African population are not well defined in literature. There is the need to further elucidate the spectrum and epidemiology of congenital hea...Background: The spectrum and incidence of congenital heart diseases amongst African population are not well defined in literature. There is the need to further elucidate the spectrum and epidemiology of congenital heart diseases amongst African. Aim: This study was conducted to highlight the spectrum and occurrence of congenital heart diseases in an African population. Methodology: All paediatric patients who were autopsied over a 98-month period were checked for occurrence of congenital heart diseases. Attempts were made to ascertain the primary disease and causes of death. We noted their bio-data, ages, sexes and causes of death. The results were analysed with SPSS version 17. The results formed the basis for discussion and recommendations. Results: There were 135 cardiac related deaths and 36 of them were in paediatric age brackets. The mean age was 4.7 + 1.08 months with a standard deviation of 6.27. M:F ratio was 1:1.1. The commonest anomaly was ventricular septal defect. There was a weak association with other congenital anomalies. The commonest cause of death was bronchopneumonia. Discussion and Recommendation: The disease pattern showed reasonable similarity with reports from other parts of the world. However, there is need for development of capacity for prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart diseases in Africa. This will widen the net of diagnosis and improve accuracy of incidence studies in Africa.展开更多
文摘Background: Epidemiologic transition of diseases is taking place globally. Therefore, it is necessary that more work is done to unravel the situation in respect to cardiac diseases in the developing world;Aim: The research was conducted to ascertain the cardiac causes of death in adults and by extension to further unravel the epidemiologic transition in relation to cardiac diseases in the developing world. Materials and Methods: This is an autopsy study of adult cardiac related causes of death in the year 2010 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, West Africa. It was conducted based in a 700-bedded hospital that has a catchment area of about 15 million people. Patients’ data (including bio-data, causes of death, etc.) were extracted from autopsy records for the year 2010. The data were entered and analysed with SPSS software. Results: There were 789 autopsies in the year and 99 of deaths were cardiac-related. There was male preponderance with a mean age of 54.2 ± 1.568 years. Hypertensive heart disease was the primary disease in 97.0% of cases in the studied sample. One 76 year old adult had myocardial infarction. There was no case of adult congenital heart disease. Intracerebral haemorrhage was the commonest cause of death. Discussion and Conclusion: Cardiovascular diseases constitute a growing threat to health among Africans. The developing countries are in stages II and III of Omran epidemiologic transition of diseases. This presents a major challenge to a large proportion of the world population with additional problem of poverty and ignorance. A 4-point agenda is suggested to reduce incidence of cardiovascular diseases (and deaths) in the developing world.
文摘Background: The spectrum and incidence of congenital heart diseases amongst African population are not well defined in literature. There is the need to further elucidate the spectrum and epidemiology of congenital heart diseases amongst African. Aim: This study was conducted to highlight the spectrum and occurrence of congenital heart diseases in an African population. Methodology: All paediatric patients who were autopsied over a 98-month period were checked for occurrence of congenital heart diseases. Attempts were made to ascertain the primary disease and causes of death. We noted their bio-data, ages, sexes and causes of death. The results were analysed with SPSS version 17. The results formed the basis for discussion and recommendations. Results: There were 135 cardiac related deaths and 36 of them were in paediatric age brackets. The mean age was 4.7 + 1.08 months with a standard deviation of 6.27. M:F ratio was 1:1.1. The commonest anomaly was ventricular septal defect. There was a weak association with other congenital anomalies. The commonest cause of death was bronchopneumonia. Discussion and Recommendation: The disease pattern showed reasonable similarity with reports from other parts of the world. However, there is need for development of capacity for prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart diseases in Africa. This will widen the net of diagnosis and improve accuracy of incidence studies in Africa.
