Risk factors for heart failure in adult Nigerians.
OBJECTIVE
Heart failure (HF) is a lethal disorder most common in blacks. Available treatment options have little impact on prognosis, making primary prevention a priority. We aimed to describe the spectrum of established HF risk factors and clinical features in Nigerian adults.


METHODS
We recruited consecutive adults with HF diagnosed using the Framingham criteria in a Teaching Hospital, and recorded clinical findings with a structured form. Blood was drawn for haematocrit, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and serum cholesterol.


RESULTS
102 subjects were studied. Common HF risk factors were hypertension 45 (44%), obesity 26 (25%), alcohol intake 25 (24%) and hypercholesterolaemia 22 (21%). Both tachycardia (OR 5.5, 95%CI 1.7-14.9) and S3 gallop (OR 4.05, 95%CI 1.53-10.76) were significantly related with NYHA class IV HF. BMI was strongly related with total serum cholesterol (r = 0.70, P < 0.001). Low ESR (< 5 mm/h) was protective of NYHA class IV HF (OR 0.40, 95%CI 0.16-0.88).


CONCLUSIONS
Hypertension, obesity, alcohol intake and hypercholesterolaemia were common in blacks with HF. Both S3 gallop and high ESR indicated more severe HF.
Laabes
Emmanuel P
EP
Department of Family Medicine, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria.
Thacher
Tom D
TD
Okeahialam
Basil N
BN
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000150:complications; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000150:complications; D055815:Young Adult