Prevalence of major and minor electrocardiographic abnormalities and their relationship with cardiovascular risk factors in Angolans.

Aims: To identify the prevalence of major and minor electrocardiographic abnormalities and their association with the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a population in the province of Bengo, northern Angola.

Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted and a representative random sample stratified by sex and age was selected. In total, 2379 black individuals were included in the final analysis. A standard 12-lead ECG were recorded from all participants, analyzed and processed by the University of Glasgow software and coding by the Minnesota code.

Results: 22.3% of participants had minor electrocardiographic abnormalities and 4.58% major ECG abnormalities. The most common minor ECG abnormalities were abnormal T wave inversion, minor isolated ST abnormalities and premature beats. The most common major ECG abnormalities were Left ventricular hypertrophy with major ST-T abnormalities, Ventricular conduction defects and major Q-wave abnormalities. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, alcohol consumption and smoking, were significantly associated with major and minor electrocardiographic abnormalities.

Conclusions: In this study several participants had minor and major electrocardiographic abnormalities. Minor electrocardiographic abnormalities were more prevalent in men and major abnormalities in women. The electrocardiographic abnormalities had significant associations with the main cardiovascular risk factors.