Rheumatic heart disease in the South West region of Cameroon: a hospital based echocardiographic study

Abstract

ObjectiveRheumatic heart disease (RHD) prevails as a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. In Cameroon, reports on RHD have been so far limited to a few cities. We sought to describe the demographic, clinical and echocardiographic features of rheumatic heart disease in the Buea Regional Hospital, South West region of Cameroon. Echocardiography reports between June 2016 and June 2017 were reviewed. The diagnosis of RHD was based on the World Heart Federation Criteria for the diagnosis of RHD.ResultsA total of 669 echocardiograms were performed over the 1 year study period. Twenty-one (3.1%) had a definite echocardiographic diagnosis of RHD. There were 14 (66.7%) females. The age range was 13–94 years with a mean age of 47.8 ± 20.3 years. The most common indications for echocardiography were heart failure (47.6%), and dyspnea (42.9%). The mitral valve was the most commonly affected valve in 80.9% of cases. The most common valve lesion was isolated mitral stenosis (42.9%), followed by isolated mitral regurgitation (28.6%). There were no lesions on the tricuspid and pulmonic valves. Severe lesions were found in 80.9% of the patients. The complications were pulmonary hypertension (66.7%) and atrial fibrillation (9.5%).

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) on Rheumatic Heart Disease among Senior Medical Students in Cameroon

“…Amongst cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in children and young adults in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), RHD accounts for 17% -43% with close to 400,000 deaths annually [9] [10]. The prevalence of echocardiographically diagnosed RHD in Cameroon ranges from 3.1% to 5.8% in hospital settings [11] [12].…”

Cor triatriatum sinister in a 36-Year-old male with Metabolic Syndrome: A case report in sub-Saharan Africa.

“…The reason for describing this case is because it is a rare congenital heart disease that could potentially mimic mitral stenosis amidst rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Mitral stenosis due to RHD is still endemic in our setting [4]. The literature search did not yield any reported cases of CTS in SSA.…”