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Cardiac disease and associated comorbidities seen among children in Niger Delta region of Nigeria during a cardiac screening program

Background: There are few studies on the pattern of cardiac diseases (CD) among children in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This study examines the pattern of cardiac disease and associated comorbidities among children living in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria during a cardiac mission. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study which involved all children with prior diagnosis of CD referred from all the states of Niger Delta region of Nigeria. All children had echocardiogram and electrocardiogram performed by a team of Paediatric cardiologists. Results: Out of a total of 155 children who presented for the cardiac screening exercise, 145 (75 males and 70 females) children had CD. Their ages ranged from 0.2 to 180 months with a mean age of 45.5 ± 44.3 months which was significantly higher than their mean age at first diagnosis of 12.2 ± 22.9 months (P = 0.0072). Of the 145 children with cardiac disease, 128 (88.3%) of the patients had congenital heart disease and 17 (11.7%) had acquired heart disease and arrhythmias. Ventricular septal defect, Tetralogy of Fallot, and Rheumatic heart disease were the commonest acyanotic, cyanotic and acquired heart diseases respectively. Solitary lesions accounted for 91 (62.8%) of cases while multiple lesions accounted for 54 (37.2%) with as many as 35 (24.1%) children having complex heart diseases. Sixty-nine (47.6%) children presented with comorbidity. Conclusion: The burden of cardiac disease and complex heart disease in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria remains high. Early detection and prompt intervention would help to reduce the morbidity.