Heart failure in Nigerian hypertensives.

A study of 209 consecutive cases of hypertension, seen at the cardiac unit of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, showed that heart failure occurred more commonly in patients who were in the low socio-economic class. All those who had a haematocrit below 30% had heart failure. The lower the serum albumin, the greater the likelihood of developing heart failure. Hypertensives who were heavy alcohol drinkers were very prone to heart failure while a significant proportion of those who had cardiomegaly or cardiomegaly with aortic unfolding on chest x-ray had heart failure. Age, sex, Hb genotype, obesity and retinal changes had no influence on the development of heart failure. It is concluded that there are other factors, besides hypertension, which precipitate heart failure in Nigerian hypertensives. This may be responsible for the high incidence of heart failure among Nigerian with hypertension.