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. 2016 Feb;6(1):64-6.
doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2223-3652.2015.08.01.

Coronary heart disease in sub-Saharan Africa: still rare, misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed?

Clovis Nkoke  1 , Engelbert B Luchuo  1
Affiliations

Coronary heart disease in sub-Saharan Africa: still rare, misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed?

Clovis Nkoke et al. Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2016 Feb.

Abstract

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in developed countries, but it has generally been considered to be rare in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). SSA is undergoing rapid epidemiological transition with an increasing prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors and consequential cardiovascular diseases such as stroke. However, CHD including myocardial infarction has generally been considered to be rare despite this deterioration in the risk factors profile. There is an urgent need to raise awareness about CHD both in the general population and healthcare professionals while making available simple, inexpensive screening and diagnostic tools in sub-Saharan African countries.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); coronary heart disease (CHD); diagnosis; epidemiological transition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Comment on

References

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