Valvular heart disease and associated factors among adult cardiac patients in a tertiary hospital, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND

Among cardiovascular conditions, valvular heart disease (VHD) has the highest burden of mortality and morbidity, followed by coronary artery disease, hypertension, and heart failure. In Ethiopia, VHD accounts for 40.5% of cardiovascular diseases. However, existing studies from Ethiopia have focused only on the rheumatic cause of VHD. Therefore, it is imperative to assess the burden of VHD risk factors. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of VHD and its associated factors among adult cardiac patients at Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC) in Ethiopia.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out among 422 participants. Data were extracted from patient records. Data were collected, cleaned, and entered into Epidata 4.6.0.2 and then exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. Descriptive characteristics were performed. Logistic regression was employed and a p-value < 0.05 with 95% CI and AOR was used for measuring the associations between outcome and independent variable. Model goodness-of-fit was checked by the Hosmer and Lemeshow test.

RESULTS

From the sampled medical records, 417 cases (98.8%) were retained for final analysis. The mean age (± SD) of the participants was 50.42 ± 0.62years. The prevalence of VHD among the population studied was 73 (17.51%; 95% CI: 14.13-21.47). The burden of VHD was greater for participants from urban areas than for those from rural areas. Family history of cardiovascular disease (AOR = 3.56, 95% CI: 1.76-7.12), history of hypertension (AOR = 2.83, 95% CI: 1.48-5.41), thyroid disease (AOR = 3.59, 95% CI: 1.51-8.56), and history of adult malnutrition (AOR = 4.93, 95% CI: 2.04-10.14) were independent predictors of VHD.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of VHD was high in the population studied. Implement targeted echocardiography screening for high-risk groups (hypertension and family history of cardiovascular disease) in primary care, integrate VHD detection into existing NCD programs with expanded rural access, and establish a national registry to guide treatment and track outcomes.