CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Vol 23, No 7, August 2012
388
AFRICA
on a consecutive sample of patients (40) who presented in our
department with DCM in NYHA stage III to IV during a seven-
month period. A larger study population would bring more
significance to the present data. We were not able to determine
the aetiology of the DCM in some patients.
Conclusion
The assessment of cardiac dyssynchrony is possible in
our country but it remains largely untapped due to the low
availability of the techniques and the inaccessibility of
CRT. Intra-ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony has a high
prevalence in patients with DCM, irrespective of the QRS
width. A substantial proportion of patients with DCM and
narrow QRS exhibiting intra-LVD may benefit from CRT.
These data emphasise the value of echocardiography in the
screening of patients.
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