A cross-sectional study of the spectrum, aetiology and clinical characteristics of adult mitral valve disease at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital

Background: Valvular heart disease constitutes a considerable amount of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a scarcity of data from Africa. Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, we documented the demographic, clinical and echocardiographic features of current patients with adult mitral valve disease (MVD) at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital from December 2018 to March 2019. Results: The study included 134 patients (mean age 50 ± 13.3 years) and 77% were female. The majority were of African ethnicity (96%). Mitral regurgitation (39%), followed by mixed MVD (38%) were the dominant lesions. Mitral stenosis was found in 23% of the patients. The main aetiologies were rheumatic heart disease (80%), mitral valve prolapse (11%), myxomatous degeneration (6%) and infective endocarditis (3%). Hypertension (30%) and HIV (12%) were the main co-morbidities. Heart failure was present in 78% of the patients at index hospitalisation. The main complications were pulmonary hypertension (28%) and atrial fibrillation (14%). Conclusion: The patients with MVD tended to be older African females with co-morbidities who had predominant rheumatic mitral regurgitation.