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Lessons from reporting 100,000 Jamaican electrocardiograms

E Besterman1

  • 1Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.

The West Indian Medical Journal
|August 19, 2000
PubMed

Insights

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Hypertension is prevalent in Jamaica, affecting 71% of women and 47% of men.
  • A significant portion (13%) of detected hypertension cases were newly diagnosed.
  • Obesity is highly prevalent in women (80%), posing a public health challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the findings of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica's screening program.
  • To assess the prevalence of hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, and ischemic changes.
  • To evaluate arrhythmia patterns and identify key risk factors and diagnostic needs.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from a hypertension screening program.
  • Review of electrocardiographic (ECG) findings over a two-year period for 14,739 patients.
  • Long-term observation of arrhythmia prevalence over 15 years.

Main Results:

  • Hypertension detected in 71% of women and 47% of men, with 13% new diagnoses.
  • Left ventricular hypertrophy found in 18% of hypertensive women and 27% of men.
  • Ischemic ECG changes were low (4%), but uncontrolled atrial fibrillation was noted in hypertensive patients.

Conclusions:

  • Inadequate blood pressure control is common, and left ventricular hypertrophy is frequent in hypertensive patients.
  • ECG screening is crucial for 'silent' ischemia in diabetics and left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensives.
  • Public education on obesity and regular ECG monitoring are recommended for at-risk populations.

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