Congenital heart disease cardiac catheterization at Uganda Heart Institute, a 12-year retrospective study of immediate outcomes.

Background: Cardiac catheterization is an invasive diagnostic and treatment tool for congenital heart disease (CHD) with potential complications.

Objective: To describe the immediate outcomes of patients who underwent cardiac catheterization for CHD at the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI).

Methods: The study was a retrospective chart review of 857 patients who underwent cardiac catheterization for CHD at UHI from 1st February 2012 to 30th June 2023.

Primary surgical repair of tetralogy of fallot at the Uganda Heart Institute: a ten-year review of 30day mortality and morbidity.

Background: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common form of cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD) worldwide. It accounts for 7% of CHD cases in Uganda and leads to fatal outcomes in the long term without surgery. Surgery is often delayed in developing countries like Uganda due to limited resources.

Makerere University-Uganda Heart Institute collaborative cardiovascular disease training and research since 1988.

Background: Makerere University College of Health Sciences has been collaborating with the Uganda Heart Institute to build capacity for research, training and clinical care in cardiovascular medicine for the last 34 years to appropriately respond to rising societal needs for advanced cardiovascular care which was lacking before this period.

Aim: To describe the major milestones in the MakCHS-UHI cardiovascular training collaboration and chart way for future collaborations.

Method: This short communication highlights some of the salient features and important milestones in the collaboration journey of the two institutions.

Positive impact of training rural health workers in identification and prevention of acute rheumatic fever in eastern Uganda.

Background: Diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is mainly clinical. Delayed or missed diagnosis and failure to administer appropriate and timely treatment of ARF leads to rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which could necessitate expensive treatments such as open-heart surgery. Implementation of preventative guidelines depends on availability of trained healthcare workers.

Trends in Annual Incidence Rates of Newly Diagnosed Endomyocardial Fibrosis Cases at the Uganda Heart Institute: A 14-Year Review.

Background: First described in Uganda over seven decades ago, Endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) is a rare form of restrictive cardiomyopathy found in the tropics. EMF occurs mainly in two phenotypes; biventricular involvement and right ventricular (RV) form. Previously endemic in several countries, there are reports suggesting that the disease is on the decline.

Starting and Operating a Public Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in a Low Resource Setting: The Eight-Year Story of the Uganda Heart Institute Catheter Laboratory.

Background: Low- and-middle-income-countries (LMICs) currently bear 80% of the world's cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality burden. The same countries are underequipped to handle the disease burden due to critical shortage of resources. Functional cardiac catheterization laboratories (cath labs) are central in the diagnosis and management of CVDs.

Pattern of congenital heart disease among children presenting to the Uganda Heart Institute, Mulago Hospital: a 7-year review.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly in children. Over half of the deaths due to CHD occur in the neonatal period. Most children with unrepaired complex heart lesions do not live to celebrate their first birthday.

Burden, predictors and short-term outcomes of peripartum cardiomyopathy in a black African cohort.

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is an idiopathic cardiomyopathy presenting with acute heart failure during the peripartum period. It is common in patients of African ancestry. Currently, there is paucity of data on the burden, predictors and outcomes of PPCM in Uganda.

Prevalence and characteristics of primary left-sided valve disease in a cohort of 15,000 patients undergoing echocardiography studies in a tertiary hospital in Uganda.

Background: Although rheumatic heart disease remains the leading cause of valve heart disease (VHD) in developing countries, other forms of valve disease have been over shadowed and not regarded as a public health problem. However, several facts suggest that the role of non-rheumatic VHD as a significant cardiovascular disease should be reconsidered. We aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of different forms of primary left sided valve diseases from a series of 15,009 echocardiographic studies.

A Human-Centered Approach to CV Care: Infrastructure Development in Uganda.

In this case study, we describe an ongoing approach to develop sustainable acute and chronic cardiovascular care infrastructure in Uganda that involves patient and provider participation. Leveraging strong infrastructure for HIV/AIDS care delivery, University Hospitals Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute and Case Western Reserve University have partnered with U.S.

Pediatric cardiovascular care in Uganda: Current status, challenges, and opportunities for the future.

In many developing countries, concerted action against common childhood infectious diseases has resulted in remarkable reduction in infant and under-five mortality. As a result, pediatric cardiovascular diseases are emerging as a major contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality. Pediatric cardiac surgery and cardiac catheterization interventions are available in only a few of Sub-Saharan African countries.

Outcome of patients undergoing open heart surgery at the Uganda heart institute, Mulago hospital complex.

Background: Heart disease is a disabling condition and necessary surgical intervention is often lacking in many developing countries. Training of the superspecialties abroad is largely limited to observation with little or no opportunity for hands on experience. An approach in which open heart surgeries are conducted locally by visiting teams enabling skills transfer to the local team and helps build to build capacity has been adopted at the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI).