Rising trend of cardiovascular diseases among South-Western Nigerian female patients

Abstract

Background: Developing countries though faced with increasing burden of cardiovascular disease have the least contribution in articles published on cardiovascular research. There is a paucity of report on the trend of cardiovascular diseases particularly no report is available on the trend in Nigerian female patients. The aim of this study is to determine the trend of cardiovascular diseases and the gender effect. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of medical admission in a public, secondary health center over a 5-year period (1997–2001) was carried out. Results: Of the 2474 patients, 37.0% with a mean age of 54.9 (14.6) years had cardiovascular diseases, 51.3% were females. Mean duration of hospital stay was 11.8 (9.1) days, range 1–90 days. This was a significant steady rise in the trend of cardiovascular disease which was higher among females (P = 0.003). Hypertension and hypertension-related complications constituted the bulk of cardiovascular diseases. Overall mortality was 155 (17%) for cardiovascular diseases although not significantly different gender wise was higher in males (86, 55.5%), P = 0.063. Conclusion: Targeted research and control of cardiovascular diseases among women may enhance the control of the menace of cardiovascular diseases.