Assessment of the 10-year risk of cardiovascular events among a group of Sub-Saharan African post-menopausal women

Background: Post-menopausal women may be at particular risk of developing cardiovascu­lar disease due to metabolic changes occurring at menopause. The present study aimed to assess the 10-year cardiovascular risk (CVR) among a group of post-menopausal women and to deter­mine associated factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among post-menopausal women in Yaoundé, Cameroon. CVR was calculated using the Framingham risk score. Results: We enrolled 108 women, their ages ranging from 45 to 80 years, with a mean of 56.4 ± ± 6.9 years. CVR ranged between 1.2% and greater than 30% with a mean of 13.4 ± 8.7%. Forty-three (39.8%) participants had a low CVR (< 10%), 39 (36.1%) women had a moderate CVR (10-20%), and 21 (24.1%) women had a high CVR (> 20%). Low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C; b = 3.27, p = 0.004), fasting plasma glucose (b = 5.40, p = 0.015), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; b = 3.49, p < 0.0001) were independently associated with CVR. Women not married (i.e. single, divorced or widowed) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.66, p = 0.002), those with high titers of LDL-C (≥ 1.6 g/L; aOR 5.07, p = 0.001), and those with elevated DBP (≥ 90 mm Hg; aOR 8.10, p < 0.0001) presented an increased likelihood to be at an advanced level of CVR. Conclusions: A significant number of post-menopausal women are at considerable risk of cardiovascular events in our setting. Therefore, they should be educated to adopt healthy life­styles for substantial reduction in their CVR

Incidence of recreational sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in participants over age 12 in a general African population

Background The incidence of sports-related sudden cardiac arrest (SrSCA) in sub-Saharan Africa is unknown.Objective To determine the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in non-competitive athletes in an urban population of Cameroon, a country in sub-Saharan Africa.Methods Two study populations in Cameroon were used. A 12-month, multisource surveillance system of 86 189 inhabitants over 12 years old recorded all deaths in two administrative districts of Douala City. All fields of sports, emergency medical service, local medical examiners and district hospital mortuaries were surveyed. Two blinded cardiologists used a verbal autopsy protocol to determine the cause of death. SCA was identified for all deaths occurring within 1 hour of onset of symptoms. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 793 persons in Yaoundé City, which is the second study population aimed at determining the proportion of people who are physically active.Results The mean age in the cross-sectional study was 27.3±10.7, with more men (56.2%). The cross-sectional study showed that 69.0% (95% CI 65.8 to 72.2) of the population could be considered to have at least 3 hours of physical activity per week. The surveillance found that among 288 all-cause deaths, 27 (9.4%) were due to SCA. One SrSCA was registered in a 35-year-old woman while running. Merging both sources revealed an SrSCA incidence of 1.7 (95% CI 0.2 to 12.0) cases per 100 000 athletes per year.Conclusion This pioneer study reports the incidence estimates of SrSCA in a sub-Saharan African general population and should be regarded as a first step to a big problem