The pattern of cardiac disease admissions and outcomes among medical admissions in St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College: A retrospective study

Abstract

Background: The epidemic of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is a global phenomenon, and approximately 80% of all cardiovascular-related deaths occur in low and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of cardiac admission and its outcome among the annual medical admissions in Addis Ababa.

Method: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study to evaluate the pattern of cardiac diseases and outcomes among medical admissions at St Paul Specialized Hospital Millennium Medical College from the 1st of Jan 2020 to the 1st of Jan 2021.

Results: The proportion of cardiac admission was 26% among 1,165 medical admissions. The most common cardiac admission was advanced congestive heart failure (CHF) (74% (224)), followed by hypertensive heart disease (HHD) (48.5%) and valvular heart disease (VHD)(23.5%), respectively. Chronic Rheumatic valvular heart disease (CRVHD) was 91.5% of the total VHD and was significantly higher among rural residents and younger populations (p<0.001). Over 12% of CRVHD patients were complicated with cardio-embolic stroke, constituting one-third of the total annual ischemic stroke admissions. Hypertension ((54%,) (164)) was the leading risk factor and was more common among urban residents (p=0.001). The mean duration of total hospital stay was 18.33 days. In-hospital mortality was 23.8% and was associated with shorter hospital stays (p<0.001). The most common immediate cause of death was sepsis of chest focus with multiorgan failure(27.8%), followed by fatal arrhythmia (20.8%) and brain herniation (15.3%), respectively.

Conclusion: Cardiac diseases are common in the study area causing significant mortality among medical admissions. Therefore, early risk assessment, adequate disease control, and stringent inpatient care should be among the priorities to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.