HEART DISEASE IN THE ZULU: ESPECIALLY CARDIOMYOPATHY AND CARDIAC INFARCTION

Abstract

A survey of 1000 consecutive patients with heart disease admitted to hospital has revealed the rarity of myocardial infarction and the high incidence of heart disease of unknown origin among the Zulu population of inland Natal. The broad pattern of heart disease in this area resembles that in Johannesburg and Durban but differs somewhat from that in the Western Cape Province. The cardiomyopathy that is common among the native races in most parts of South Africa is probably a single disease entity in which the clinical picture and course is, nevertheless, extremely variable. It differs in many respects from the endomyocardial fibrosis of Central and East Africa. Attention is drawn to the frequency of cardiomyopathy in the post-partum period, and to the common association of endocardial thrombosis and visceral infarction in cases of cardiomyopathy.