• Okechukwu S Ogah, Simon Stewart, Ayodele O Falase, Joshua O Akinyemi, Gali D Adegbite, Albert A Alabi, Amina Durodola, Akinlolu A Ajani, and Karen Sliwa.
• Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Soweto Cardiovascular Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. osogah56156@yahoo.com.
• Cardiovasc J Afr. 2014 Sep 1; 25 (5): 217-23.

BackgroundCompared to other regions of the world, there is a paucity of data on the short-term outcome of acute heart failure (AHF) in Africa's most populous country, Nigeria. We examined the six-month outcomes (including case fatalities) in 285 of 309 AHF subjects admitted with HF to a tertiary hospital in Abeokuta, Nigeria.MethodsThe study cohort of 285 subjects comprised 150 men (52.6%) and 135 women (47.4%) with a mean age of 56.3 ± 15.6 years and the majority in NYHA class III (75%).ResultsThere were a number of differences according to the subject's gender; men being older and more likely to present with hypertensive heart disease (with greater left ventricular mass) while also having greater systolic dysfunction. Mean length of stay was 10.5 ± 5.9 days. Mean follow up was 205 days, with 23 deaths and 20 lost to follow up. At 30 days, 4.2% (95% CI: 2.4-7.3%) had died and by 180 days this had increased to 7.5% (95% CI: 4.7-11.2%); with those subjects with pericardial disease demonstrating the highest initial mortality rate. Over the same period, 13.9% of the cohort was re-admitted at least once.ConclusionsThe characteristics of this AHF cohort in Nigeria were different from those reported in high-income countries. Cases were relatively younger and presented with non-ischaemic aetiological risk factors for HF, especially hypertensive heart disease. Moreover, mortality and re-admission rates were relatively lower, suggesting region-specific strategies are required to improve health outcomes.

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