Myocardial infarction in the Tikur Anbessa Teaching Hospital. A five-year review

During a five-year period between September 1981 and August 1986, 23 patients with acute myocardial infarction (17 Ethiopians, 4 foreigners and 2 half-blooded Ethiopians) were admitted to the Tikur Anbessa Hospital in Addis Ababa, giving an incidence for myocardial infarction among medical admissions of 3.5 per thousand. The age range for Ethiopians was 31 to 71 years. Of the 17 Ethiopians, seven were below the age of 50 years and five died giving a mortality rate of 29.4%. The only female patient was of Ethiopian-Greek origin with multiple coronary risk factors. Cigarette smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia and obesity were among the risk factors identified among Ethiopians suffering from myocardial infarction. The clinical features and complications seen in Ethiopians were similar to those seen in developed societies. It is concluded that myocardial infarction in Ethiopia may not be as rare as previous observations suggest.