Epidemiology of acutely decompensated systolic heart failure over the 2003-2013 decade in Douala General Hospital, Cameroon.

Aims: Acutely decompensated heart failure (HF) (ADHF) is a common cause of hospitalization and mortality worldwide. This study explores the epidemiology and prognostic factors of ADHF in Cameroonian patients.

Methods And Results: This was a retrospective study conducted between January 2003 and December 2013 from the medical files of patients followed at the intensive care and cardiovascular units of Douala General Hospital in Cameroon.

Arterial stiffness and wave reflections in patients with sickle cell disease.

We tested the hypothesis that lower blood pressure and increased vasodilatation reported in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients with hemoglobin SS genotype (SS) are translated by lower arterial stiffness determined by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and wave reflections assessed by augmentation index (AI). We enrolled 20 SS (8 females; 12 male) patients closely matched for age, gender, height, and body mass index to 20 subjects with hemoglobin AA genotype (AA). Carotid-femoral PWV (PWV(CF)) and carotid-radial PWV (PWV(CR)) were recorded with the Complior device.