TITLE:
Clinical Pattern and Outcome of Acute Heart Failure at the Yaounde Central Hospital
AUTHORS:
Jérôme Boombhi, Murielle Moampea, Liliane Kuate, Alain Menanga, Bâ Hamadou, Samuel Kingue
KEYWORDS:
Acute Heart Failure, Clinical Presentation, Outcome, Yaounde Central Hospital
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.4 No.3,
March
31,
2017
ABSTRACT: Background: Acute heart
failure (AHF) is a major public health issue. Our objective was to study its
clinical pattern and outcome in a reference hospital in Cameroon. Methods: This
was a retrospective observational study, including any patient hospitalized for
AHF, diagnosed based on clinical and/or ultrasound evidence, in the Cardiology
Department of the Yaounde Central Hospital during a period of 3 years from
January 1st 2013 to March 30th 2016. Data were entered
and analyzed using the statistical software Epi info version 7.1.1.14. Results:
A total of 148 patients with AHF were included over a total of 445 admissions.
It accounted for 33.3% of admissions. The average age was 61.46 years. The female-male
sex ratio was 1.34. The main cardiovascular risk factors were hypertension
(54.79%). Dyspnea on exertion was the most prevalent symptom (86%).
Hypertensive AHF was the most represented etiopathogenic entity in the series.
The main electrocardiographic abnormality found (27.61%) was atrial fibrillation.
Cardiomegaly was found in 44.76% of the cases. Hyponatraemia and anemia were
found in about a quarter of the cases. On echocardiography, 49.61% of patients
had heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction. The main findings were
hypertensive heart disease (30.16%) and dilated cardiomyopathy (28.57%).
Concerning the management, the most commonly used drugs on admission were loop
diuretics; and on discharge, were ACE inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor
blockers. Intrahospital mortality was 18.45%. Conclusion: AHF at the Yaounde
Central Hospital occurs with severe clinical presentation, complicated by high
intra-hospital mortality. Hypertension plays a predominant role both in its
onset and in the underlying chronic cardiac involvement.