Cardiac arrhythmia services in Africa from 2011 to 2018: the second report from the Pan African Society of Cardiology working group on cardiac arrhythmias and pacing.

AIMS: Cardiac arrhythmia services are a neglected field of cardiology in Africa. To provide comprehensive contemporary information on the access and use of cardiac arrhythmia services in Africa. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data on human resources, drug availability, cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED), and ablation procedures were sought from member countries of Pan African Society of Cardiology. Data were received from 23 out of 31 countries. In most countries, healthcare services are primarily supported by household incomes. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), digoxin, and amiodarone were available in all countries, while the availability of other drugs varied widely. Non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOACs) were unequally present in the African markets, while International Normalized Ratio monitoring was challenging. Four countries (18%) did not provide pacemaker implantations while, where available, the implantation and operator rates were 2.79 and 0.772 per million population, respectively. The countries with the highest pacemaker implantation rate/million population in descending order were Tunisia, Mauritius, South Africa, Algeria, and Morocco. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) were performed in 15 (65%) and 12 (52%) countries, respectively. Reconditioned CIED were used in 5 (22%) countries. Electrophysiology was performed in 8 (35%) countries, but complex ablations only in countries from the Maghreb and South Africa. Marked variation in costs of CIED that severely mismatched the gross domestic product per capita was observed in Africa. From the first report, three countries have started performing simple ablations. CONCLUSION: The access to arrhythmia treatments varied widely in Africa where hundreds of millions of people remain at risk of dying from heart block. Increased economic and human resources as well as infrastructures are the critical targets for improving arrhythmia services in Africa.

Statistics on the use of cardiac electronic devices and interventional electrophysiological procedures in Africa from 2011 to 2016: report of the Pan African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) Cardiac Arrhythmias and Pacing Task Forces.

Aims: To provide comprehensive information on the access and use of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) and catheter ablation procedures in Africa. Methods and results: The Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) collected data on invasive management of cardiac arrhythmias from 2011 to 2016 from 31 African countries. A specific template was completed by physicians, and additional information obtained from industry. Information on health care systems, demographics, economics, procedure rates, and specific training programs was collected. Considerable heterogeneity in the access to arrhythmia care was observed across Africa. Eight of the 31 countries surveyed (26%) did not perform pacemaker implantations. The median pacemaker implantation rate was 2.66 per million population per country (range: 0.14-233 per million population). Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization therapy were performed in 12/31 (39%) and 15/31 (48%) countries respectively, mostly by visiting teams. Electrophysiological studies, including complex catheter ablations were performed in all countries from Maghreb, but only one sub-Saharan African country (South Africa). Marked variation in cost (up to 1000-fold) was observed across countries with an inverse correlation between implant rates and the procedure fees standardized to the gross domestic product per capita. Lack of economic resources and facilities, high cost of procedures, deficiency of trained physicians, and non-existent fellowship programs were the main drivers of under-utilization of interventional cardiac arrhythmia care. Conclusion: There is limited access to CIED and ablation procedures in Africa. A quarter of countries did not have pacemaker implantation services, and catheter ablations were only available in one country in sub-Saharan Africa.

The inaugural meeting of the Africa Heart Rhythm Association (AFHRA).

Cardiorhythm Africa, the inaugural conference of AFHRA, was conceived during the biennial PASCAR congress held in Johannesburg in November 2019, with the ambition to be the largest ever pan-African conference focused purely on arrhythmia. Significant aims were to (1) bring together arrhythmia specialists from across Africa and from the diaspora; and (2) announce the newly formed African Heart Rhythm Association (AFHRA), an affiliate organisation of PASCAR formed from the amalgamation of the Cardiac Pacing and Arrhythmias taskforces. The meeting held in Nairobi (29-31 January 2020) was organised to provide a focus on resource-constrained arrhythmia management within the African context and novel/advanced and potentially home-grown solutions. There was full representation from all five PASCAR regions (North, East, West, Central and Southern Africa). This report summarises the scope and perspective of the first Cardiorhythm Africa meeting and presents the future directions for this annual meeting.

Cardiac Pacing Training in Africa: Endorsed by the Africa Heart Rhythm Association (AFHRA): JACC International.

The field of pacing in Africa has evolved in an uncoordinated way across the continent with significant variation in local expertise, cost, and utilization. There are many countries where pacemaker services do not meet one-hundredth of the national demand. Regional, national, and institutional standards for pacemaker qualification and credentials are lacking. This paper reviews the current needs for bradycardia pacing and evaluates what standards should be set to develop pacemaker services in a resource-constrained continent, including the challenges and opportunities of capacity building and training as well as standards for training programs (training prerequisites, case volumes, program content, and evaluation).

Effect of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome on serum C-reactive protein level, left atrial size and premature atrial contraction.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the changes of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level, left atrial size and atrial premature contraction (PAC) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). METHODS: This study involved 277 patients with OSAS diagnosed after an overnight polysomnography, who underwent a 24-h Holter electrocardiography and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for detection of PAC. According to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), 137 patients with PAC identified from these patients were classified into 3 groups, namely the mild (5≥AHI<15), moderate (15≥AHI<30) and severe (AHI≥30) groups. Serum CRP level was assessed by a high-sensitivity radio-immunoassay. The left atrial diameter and echocardiographic parameters were recorded by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTE). RESULTS: We found a high prevalence of PAC in these OSAS patients (137/277, 49.4%). Serum CRP was significantly higher in severe OSAS group (5.01∓4.68 mg/L) than in the moderate (3.03∓1.94 mg/L) and mild OSAS (2.98∓1.82 mg/L) groups (P=0.040 and 0.033, respectively). The left atrial diameter was significantly increased in severe OSAS group (40.1∓7.9 mm) as compared to that in moderate (37.9∓5.5 mm) and mild (33.7 ∓ 3.8 mm) groups (P=0.025 and 0.002, respectively). The severity of OSAS was positively correlated to both CRP (r=0.304, P=0.034) and left atrial diameter (r=0.411, P=0.003). After adjusting for gender, age and body mass index (BMI), a strong correlation was found between the left atrial diameter and CRP (r=0.594, P=0.0005). CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of PAC in OSAS patients. The progression of OSAS is associated with increased serum CRP level and left atrial size in patients with premature atrial complexes. Our study suggests that inflammation associated with OSAS might contribute to atrial structural and electrical remodeling in OSAS patients with PAC.

[Comparison of eight equations for estimating glomerular filtration rate in patients with cardiovascular diseases].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic value of 8 equations using different variables for determining the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in patients with cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: GFR was estimated in 208 patients with cardiovascular diseases by (99m)Tc-DTPA dynamic renal imaging, and the eGFR was derived from 8 equations using different variables. RESULTS: In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1-3, the eGFR calculated suing serum creatinine (SCr)-based equation was better correlated to GFR estimated by (99m)Tc-DTPA renal imaging than that derived from cystatin C (Cys C)-based equations, whereas in patients with CKD stages 4 and 5, the estimates by the latter equation showed a better correlation to GFR. Compared with (99m)Tc-DTPA renal imaging, MDRD-based equation and simple MDRD equation resulted in a higher eGFR in patients with CKD stages 4 and 5, the Rule equation had a lower eGFR in CKD stages 1 and 2, the Macisaac equation yielded a higher eGFR in CKD stages 2-5, and the Tan equation showed a higher eGFR in CKD stages 2 and 3. In patients with mild renal dysfunction, the Scr-based equation had a higher AUC(ROC) than Cys C-based equation, which was reversed in patients with severe renal dysfunction; the AUC(ROC) of the two equations were comparable in patients with moderate renal dysfunction. Compared with (99m)Tc-DTPA renal imaging, the modified MDRD equation and Arnal-Dade equation showed no significant difference in the eGFR in patients with CKD stages 1-5. CONCLUSION: Modified MDRD equation (or simple MDRD equation) and Arnal-Dade equation are superior to other calculation methods for estimating the GFR in Chinese patients with cardiovascular disease.

Management of subacute myocardial infarction in a patient with left coronary artery originating from the right coronary artery.

OBJECTIVE: Although the majority of coronary artery anomalies are found incidentally and not clinically significant, the interarterial course between the major vessels of the aberrant artery may be responsible for syncope, angina, arrhythmias or sudden death. There are only a few case reports describing the origination of all the coronary arteries from a single ostium. This anomaly occurs in only 0.024%-0.044% of the population. Left coronary artery originating from the right coronary is a rare coronary abnormality. Here we report a case of acute myocardial infarction in a patient with anomalous left coronary artery originating from the right coronary artery, as was confirmed by computerized tomography angiogram, which showed that only one single coronary artery stem originating from the right sinus of Valsalva trifurcated into a right coronary artery, left circumflex artery and a hypoplastic left anterior descending artery. Subsequent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures were performed successfully. PCI procedures should be carried out with great caution in such cases, and this condition should be managed as a left main lesion.