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Cardiovascular diseases in Africa in the twenty-first century: Gaps and priorities going forward

Minja, N.W.; Nakagaayi, D.; Aliku, T. et al. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2022) CC

In 2015, the United Nations set important targets to reduce premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths by 33% by 2030. Africa disproportionately bears the brunt of CVD burden and has one of the highest risks of dying from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. There is currently an epide...miological transition on the continent, where NCDs is projected to outpace communicable diseases within the current decade. Unchecked increases in CVD risk factors have contributed to the growing burden of three major CVDs—hypertension, cardiomyopathies, and atherosclerotic diseasesleading to devastating rates of stroke and heart failure. The highest age standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to hypertensive heart disease (HHD) were recorded in Africa. The contributory causes of heart failure are changing—whilst HHD and cardiomyopathies still dominate, ischemic heart disease is rapidly becoming a significant contributor, whilst rheumatic heart disease (RHD) has shown a gradual decline. In a continent where health systems are traditionally geared toward addressing communicable diseases, several gaps exist to adequately meet the growing demand imposed by CVDs. Among these, high-quality research to inform interventions, underfunded health systems with high out-of-pocket costs, limited accessibility and affordability of essential medicines, CVD preventive services, and skill shortages. Overall, the African continent progress toward a third reduction in premature mortality come 2030 is lagging behind. More can be done in the arena of effective policy implementation for risk factor reduction and CVD prevention, increasing health financing and focusing on strengthening primary health care services for prevention and treatment of CVDs, whilst ensuring availability and affordability of quality medicines. Further, investing in systematic country data collection and research outputs will improve the accuracy of the burden of disease data and inform policy adoption on interventions. This review summarizes the current CVD burden, important gaps in cardiovascular medicine in Africa, and further highlights priority areas where efforts could be intensified in the next decade with potential to improve the current rate of progress toward achieving a 33% reduction in CVD mortality. more

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Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Treatment of Heart Failure in Diabetes

Park, J.J. Diabetes & Metabolism Journal (2021) CC

The cardiovascular disease continuum begins with risk factors such as diabetes mellitus (DM), progresses to vasculopathy and myocardial dysfunction, and finally ends with cardiovascular death. Diabetes is associated with a 2- to 4-fold increased risk for heart failure (HF). Moreover, HF patients wit... more

Toolkit for developing a multisectoral action plan for noncommunicable diseases: module 4: developing an implementation plan

World Health Organization (WHO) World Health Organization (WHO) (2022) C_WHO

World Health Organization. (‎2022)‎. Toolkit for developing a multisectoral action plan for noncommunicable diseases: module 4: developing an implementation plan.

Prevalence, severity and risk factors for asthma in school-going adolescents in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Mphahlele, R.; Lesosky, M.; Masekela, R. BMJ Open Respiratory Research (2023) CC

Background Asthma remains highly prevalent, with more severe symptoms in low-income to middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with high-income countries. Identifying risk factors for severe asthma symptoms can assist with improving outcomes. We aimed to determine the prevalence, severity and ris... more