CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Vol 22, No 6, November/December 2011
AFRICA
299
tion of the subjects. The majority of the subjects fell within
the middle-aged group, with a peak age of 50 years. Forty-six
subjects (5.5%) had a self-reported history of diabetes (25 men,
6.0% and 21 women, 5.0%).
Tables 1 and 2 show the clinical and demographic charac-
teristics of the subjects in the men and women, respectively.
Patients with LVSD were older. Those with normal left ventricu-
lar systolic function (LVSF) were heavier and had a larger body
surface area. Diastolic blood pressure as well as mean arterial
blood pressure were higher in individuals with severe LVSD.
Normal LVSF, defined as ejection fraction (EF)
≥
50% was
present in 89.9% of the subjects. The remaining 18.1% had
LVSD (mild 9.6%, moderate 3.7% and severe 4.8%). Figs 3 and
4 depict the distribution of the subjects according to LVSF and
gender.
Men had a higher prevalence of LVSD than women (24.4
and 12.3%, respectively) and this was statistically significant
(
p
<
0.0001). Compared with individuals with normal LVSF
TABLE 1. CLINICALAND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MALE SUBJECTS
Parameter
Normal LVSF
Mild LVSD Moderate LVSD Severe LVSD
ANOVA
p
-value
Age (years)
56.4 (13.8)
62.7 (9.0)
58.9 (12.5)
61.5 (16.8)
0.039
Weight (kg)
77.9 (15.5)
72.3 (14.8)*
63.0 (14.8)*
68.2 (20.0)*
0.0001
Height (cm)
169.0 (7.4)
169.8 (5.3)
166.4 (9.1)
167.5 (8.2)
NS
BMI (kg/m
2
)
27.3 (5.0)
25.0 (4.7)*
22.6 (5.9)*
24.3 (7.0)*
∞
0.0002
BSA (m
2
)
1.88 (0.19)
1.83 (0.18)*
1.69 (0.24)*
∞
1.76 (0.23)*
0.0001
Systolic BP (mmHg)
84.5 (14.9)
81.2 (11.1)
83.4 (12.4)
88.9 (13.8)
NS
Diastolic BP (mmHg)
91.0 (14.9)
84.2 (12.7)*
85.6 (11.5)
99.0 (15.9)*
∞
0.018
Pulse pressure (mmHg)
57.0 (17.3)
57.8 (17.3)
59.4 (19.5)
53.9 (16.1)
NS
MAP (mmHg)
110.0 (15.9)
103.4 (14.7)*
105.4 (11.9)
116.9 (29.0)
∞
0.024
BMI
=
body mass index, BSA
=
body surface area, BP
=
blood pressure, MAP
=
mean arterial pressure.
NS
=
not significant, *
p
<
0.05 versus normal LVSF,
∞
p
<
0.05 versus mild LVSD.
TABLE 2. CLINICALAND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FEMALE SUBJECTS
Parameter
Normal LVSF
Mild LVSD Moderate LVSD Severe LVSD
ANOVA
p
-value
Age (years)
56.4 (13.3)
60.1 (10.1)
60.1 (13.5)
55.4 (17.0)
NS
Weight (kg)
76.2 (14.9)
74.5 (154.6)
64.2 (16.4)
71.0 (19.9)
NS
Height (cm)
168.4 (7.5)
169.2 (9.4)
166.3 (9.1)
167.6 (7.7)
NS
BMI (kg/m
2
)
26.9 (4.9)
26.4 (7.8)*
23.1 (5.4)
∞
25.2 (6.3)
∞
0.007
BSA (m
2
)
1.86 (0.19)
1.84 (0.17)
1.71 (0.22)
1.79 (0.24)*
∞
0.001
Systolic BP (mmHg)
147.2 (22.3)
142.0 (21.7)
143.2 (19.1)
148.5 (33.5)
NS
Diastolic BP (mmHg)
90.4 (14.7)
85.1 (12.5)*
85.5 (11.0)
98.5 (24.9)
0.002
Pulse pressure (mmHg)
57.4 (16.5)
57.6 (17.1)
58.5 (18.7)
52.1 (17.5)
NS
MAP (mmHg)
110.2 (16.0)
103.5 (14.5)
105.5 (11.3)
116.3 (28.2)
0.023
BMI
=
body mass index, BSA
=
body surface area, BP
=
blood pressure, MAP
=
mean arterial pressure.
NS
=
not significant, *
p
<
0.05 versus normal LVSF,
∞
p
<
0.05 versus mild LVSD.
Fig. 3. Distribution of LVSF.
Normal LVF
81.9%
Mild LVSD
9.6%
Moderate LVSD
3.7%
Severe LVSD
4.8%
Fig. 4. Distribution of LVSF according to gender.
100
80
60
40
20
0
Percent
Severe
LVSD
Moderate
LVSD
Mild
LVSD
Normal
LVSF
Female
Male
LV function
Fig. 2. Histogram of the age distribution of the subjects.
200
100
0
Frequency
Age in years
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
Std dev
=
12.71
Mean
=
56.0
n
=
832.00
