Spectrum of cardiovascular diseases among Ethiopian patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized University Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa.

Background: Cardiovascular disorders vary throughout the world in type and distribution especially between the developed and the developing countries. Data on spectrum of cardiovascular diseases in Ethiopia is scarce.

Objective: To assess the spectrum of cardiovascular disorders at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Tertiary Referral Hospital.

Methods: A record review of patient registers from January 2001 to December 2012 was done for 3282 Ethiopian patients with confirmed cardiovascular disorders at adult Cardiology clinic and Neurology clinic of Tikur Anbessa Specialized hospital. Spectrum of valvular heart disease, heart failure, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congenital heart disease, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, cerebrovascular diseases, and peripheral vascular diseases, defined by Physician International Classification of Diseases, Version 9, codes, were directly standardized to the population. Descriptive statitistics was applied to present results.

Results: The study population contained more women (n = 1937 [59.0%]) than men. The mean age of the patients was 31.6 +/- 16.6 years. Women were younger than men (mean 29.6 [SD 15.1] years vs 34.52 [18.3] years). Valvular Heart Disease was the most common primary diagnosis in 2036 (62.0%) with significantly higher proportion in the 3rd decade of life. About 300 (9.1%) of the patients were diagnosed with heart failure. Other major diagnoses included hypertension 482 (14.7%), cerebrovascular diseases or stroke 377 (11.5%), congenital heart disease 279 (8.5%) and ischemic heart disease 224 (7.4%). Fifty seven (26.5%) patients with ischemic heart disease had diabetes mellitus.

Conclusion: While valvular heart disease is the commonest cardiovascular disorder in Ethiopian patients at the largest public hospital of the country, ischemic heart disease has dramatically increased over the years. It is high-time that effective population-based, health promotive strategies for primary prevention as well as secondary measures for the established cardiovascular disorders and risk factors are in place.