Studies on heart failure in Sagamu

ABSTRACT

A prospective study of 137 children with heart failure; has revealed a prevalence of 80.3 percent among infants and children three years old and below; the condition was rather uncommon in the neonatal period; occurring in only 3.6 percent of children in the series. The major manifestations of the disease included refusal of feeds or poor appetite in 74.5 percent; cough in 59.8 percent; difficulty in breathing in 49.6 percent and vomiting in 30.7 percent of the patients; significant tachycardia and tachypnoea and tender hepatomegaly were present in all the patients; while elevated jugular venous pressure (JVP) occurred in 10.9 percent and pitting oedema in 7.3 percent of the patients