Clinical Pattern and Outcome of Acute Heart Failure at the Yaounde Central Hospital

Background: Acute heart failure (AHF) is a major public health issue.Our objective was to study its clinical pattern and outcome in a reference hospital in Cameroon.Methods: This was a retrospective observational study, including any patient hospitalized for AHF, diagnosed based on clinical and/or ultrasound evidence, in the Cardiology Department of the Yaounde Central Hospital during a period of 3 years from January 1 st 2013 to March 30 th 2016.Data were entered and analyzed using the statistical software Epi info version 7.1.1.14.Results: A total of 148 patients with AHF were included over a total of 445 admissions.It accounted for 33.3% of admissions.The average age was 61.46 years.The female-male sex ratio was 1.34.The main cardiovascular risk factors were hypertension (54.79%).Dyspnea on exertion was the most prevalent symptom (86%).Hypertensive AHF was the most represented etiopathogenic entity in the series.The main electrocardiographic abnormality found (27.61%) was atrial fibrillation.Cardiomegaly was found in 44.76% of the cases.Hyponatraemia and anemia were found in about a quarter of the cases.On echocardiography, 49.61% of patients had heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction.The main findings were hypertensive heart disease (30.16%) and dilated cardiomyopathy (28.57%).Concerning the management, the most commonly used drugs on admission were loop diuretics; and on discharge, were ACE inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers.Intrahospital mortality was 18.45%.Conclusion: AHF at the Yaounde Central Hospital occurs with severe clinical presentation, complicated by high intra-hospital mortality.Hypertension plays a predominant role both in its onset and in the underlying chronic cardiac involvement.