HEART-MUSCLE DISEASE AMONG ADULT NIGERIANS - ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL FACTORS IN ITS ETIOLOGY

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 10  (3) , 197-204
Abstract
A study of 44 Nigerians with heart muscle disease defined as congestive cardiac failure and cardiac enlargement of unknown cause with a presenting diastolic blood pressure of not more than 100 mm Hg showed that 20 were alcoholics. Of these 12 belonged to the high socioeconomic class; 17 were thiamine deficient; 11 consumed alcohol excessively and 8 of 11 belonged to the high socioeconomic class. Only 3 alcoholics were identified in 52 controls. None of the 3 patients was thiamine deficient but 10 others were. Only 1 patient with heart muscle disease had a reversible high output cardiac failure. The mean serum albumin of the patients with heart muscle disease was significantly lower than controls. There was no significant difference between the mean levels of serum K in the study group and controls. Chronic alcoholism is not rare among Nigerians with heart muscle disease. Although there is no convincing evidence to show that malnutrition or thiamine deficiency could in themselves cause the chronic myocardial failure in heart muscle disease, they could be risk factors which increase the susceptibility of the heart to other injurious agents.