Cardiac disease distribution among patients referred for echocardiography in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Objective: To determine the distribution of cardiac diseases seen in a tertiary referral hospital.

Design: Cross sectional survey.

Setting: Harare Central Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Subjects: 1,507 patients referred for echocardiographic evaluation.

Main outcome measure: Cardiac diagnosis.

Results: 1,153 (76.5%) echocardiographic studies were abnormal, while 354 were normal. Rheumatic heart disease was the predominant diagnosis (25.1%) with 208 (74.3%) of cases being females. The main valvular lesion in females was mitral stenosis (48.1%), while in males it was mitral regurgitation (61.1%). Other diagnoses were: pericardial disease 250 (22.4%), dilated cardiomyopathy 245 (22.0%), hypertensive heart disease 148 (13.3%) and others (17.4%). There were 65 cases of peripartum cardiomyopathy among the cases of dilated cardiomyopathy and 34 cases of acute myocarditis among "others".

Conclusion: A detailed clinical, radiological and echocardiographic assessment at the time of echocardiography enabled a credible diagnosis to be assigned to the majority of patients. Echocardiography is appropriate technology in this setting given the range of "echo-friendly" cardiac lesions found.