Rheumatic heart disease and its complications constitute the second most important cardiovascular entity resulting in hospital admissions. Rheumatic heart disease accounts for about 30 percent of cardiovascular hospital admissions. Among schoolchildren, the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease ranges from less than 1 percent to more than 15 percent per 1,000. Frequencies of coronary artery disease are relatively low but this is rapidly changing. Coronary artery disease appears to be more common in northern African countries.
Prognosis is considerably worse in black women than in black men.
Over 15 percent of cardiovascular admissions in some hospitals may relate to primary pericardial disease. Infective endocarditis may be more common than formerly suspected, as suggested by the prevalence of valvular disorders of rheumatic origin and unrecognized congenital cardiac lesions. Rates of infective endocarditis ranging from less than 2 percent to over 10 percent have been reported among patients hospitalized for various cardiovascular disorders. Atherosclerosis and peripheral vascular disease conditions are rare in Africans, but this is changing rapidly because of shifts in aging patterns and more urbanized lifestyles, which affect other risk factors. Over 60 percent of the population of most African countries consists of youths less than 15 years of age.