Epidemiology, Clinical and Paraclinical Profiles of Heart Failure in Elderly Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Cameroon

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with a growing burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Data remain limited in Cameroon, particularly among older adults. This study aimed to describe the epidemiologic, clinical, and paraclinical profile of geriatric patients admitted for HF in two hospitals in Yaoundé. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a retrospective and prospective phase of data collection over six months (November 2021-April 2022) in the cardiology units of the Yaoundé Central Hospital and the Yaoundé General Hospital which are on our pyramid of our national health care facilities on the top. We aimed then to carry out this study in those highest level of care facilities. Patients aged ≥65 years with a diagnosis of HF based on clinical and echocardiographic criteria were included. Sociodemographic, clinical, geriatric, and paraclinical data were collected after informed patient consent. Analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0, with results expressed as means and proportions. The hospital prevalence was calculated by the ratio of patients above 65 years old admitted for heart failure over all the patients above 65 years old admitted in the selected hospitals during our period of study. We did not include in the study patients aged less than 65 years old, incomplete records and medical files without a clear diagnosis of deep veinous thrombosis (DVT) and or pulmonary embolism (PE). Results: 267 elderly patients have been admitted in those two hospitals among which 92 presented with heart failure. We included 63 elderly patients with HF, giving a hospital prevalence of 34.5% (95% CI: 28.9 - 40.2). The mean age was 75.0 ± 6.4 years. Hypertension (81.0%) and sedentary lifestyle (74.6%) were the most frequent risk factors. Acute decompensated HF was the commonest presentation (38.1%), and therapeutic non-compliance the leading precipitating factor (83.3%) for decompensation. Dyspnea (95.2%) and peripheral edema (82.5%) predominated as symptoms at presentation. On examination, jugular venous distension, hepatomegaly, ascites, basal crackles, and pulmonary congestion were frequently found. Frailty was the most common geriatric syndrome (42.9%). The majority of patients (58.7%) had HF with a preserved LVEF. Conclusion: In our context, studies on heart failure are common but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study focusing on elderly patients. We have then found out that, the hospital prevalence of heart failure in elderly patients was