Welcome to the Soweto Cardiovascular Research Unit
The Soweto Cardiovascular Research Heart Unit (Socru) was set up in January 2006 to co-ordinate a range of research into cardiovascular disease in Soweto, South Africa, and to promote research collaboration in this area.
Socru is a University of the Witwatersrand recognised research unit. [Read more.]
Click here for a map to Socru.
Incidence and characteristics of newly diagnosed rheumatic heart disease in Urban African adults: insights from the Heart of Soweto Study
Little is known on the incidence and clinical characteristics of newly diagnosed rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in adulthood from urban African communities in epidemiologic transition.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital services the 1.1-million-strong black African community in Soweto, South Africa. A prospective, clinical registry captured data from all de novo cases of structural and functional valvular heart disease (VHD) presenting to the Cardiology Unit during 2006/2007. We describe in detail all cases with newly diagnosed RHD.
There were 4005 de novo presentations in 2006/07 and 960 (24%) had a valvular abnormality. Of these, 344 cases (36%) were diagnosed with RHD. Estimated incidence of new cases of RHD for those older than 14 years of age in the region was 23.5 cases/100 000 per annum. [Download PDF]
Heart of Soweto moves to primary health care
The Socru team regularly gives lectures in the Mandela-Sisulu Clinic and Pimville Clinic informing the patients and nurses about hypertension, heart failure and healthy lifestyle choices. [Read more]
Socru presents at European Heart Failure meeting, Nice, France
Diagnosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) [Download poster]
Vitamin C but not thiamine deficiency in black African patients with heart failure in South Africa: Identifying the need for nutritional intervention in the urban African setting [Download poster]
Cardiovascular Disease: Life or Lifestyle?
In contrast to the decline in developed nations of common cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure, there is a surprising increase in the prevalence of these diseases in emerging economies such as South Africa. South Africa therefore requires more effective primary prevention programmes targeting the causes of these diseases.
Although cardiovascular disease is indeed caused by lifestyle, a label that implies that with appropriate lifestyle changes we should eradicate these diseases, there is also an argument that a large component of these diseases is caused by biological changes, such as genetic or other effects, or simply poor health care delivery at a primary care level.
The latter argument suggests that “lifestyle” is an oversimplification of the causation of cardiovascular events. In this lecture, we consider both views, using examples of data obtained in two large cardiovascular studies being conducted in the Gauteng region. The lecture also addresses the effect on cardiovascular disease and obesity of globalisation, trade and changes in society. [Download pdf]
Burden of Heart Failure in Soweto – The Heart of Soweto Study
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital services the 1.1 million black African community of Soweto, South Africa. Of 1960 cases of HF and related cardiomyopathies (CMO) in 2006, we prospectively collected detailed demographic and clinical data from all 844 de novo presentations (43%). Mean age was 55 ± 16 years while women (479 [57%]) and black Africans (739 [88%]) predominated. Most (761 [90%]) had ≥ 1 cardiovascular risk. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 45 ± 18%. Overall, 180 (23%) patients had isolated diastolic dysfunction, 234 (28%) tricuspid regurgitation, 121 (14%) isolated right HF and 100 (12%) mitral regurgitation. The most common diagnoses were hypertensive HF (281 [33%]), idiopathic dilated CMO (237 [28%]) and, surprisingly, right HF (225 [27%]). Black Africans had less ischemic CMO (adjusted OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.20) but more idiopathic and other causes of CMO (adjusted OR 4.80, 95% CI 2.57 to 8.93). Concurrent renal dysfunction, anemia and atrial fibrillation were found in 172 (25%), 72 (10%) and 53 (6.3%) cases, respectively.
These contemporary data highlight the multiple challenges of preventing and managing an increasing and complex burden of HF in urban Africa. In addition to tackling antecedent hypertension, a predominance of “young” women and a large component of right HF predicate the development of tailored therapeutic strategies. [Download]
Stewart S, Wilkinson D, Hansen C, Vaghela J, Mvungi R, McMurray J Sliwa K Predominance of Heart Failure in the Heart of Soweto Study Cohort: Challenges for Urban African Communities. Circulation 2008;118;2323-2325, 4 Dec.
Figure: Pattern of heart failure in the Heart of Soweto Clinical Registry, Circulation 2008
Socru presents at the World Congress of Cardiology
SOWETO Cardiovascular Research Unit researchers presented eight abstracts and were invited to several oral presentations at the World Congress of Cardiology in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in May 2008. Pictured here (from right to left) are: Dr Vinesh Vaghela, Prof Karen Sliwa and Dr Kemi Tibazarwa, with an international colleague.
