Coronary events in Khartoum, Sudan

The aim of the study was to determine coronary events in a defined Sudanese population. All coronary events occurring in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, were registered during the calendar year 1989. The cold pursuit method of identifying coronary events by surveillance of routinely collected data was adopted. A total of 517 cases representing coronary events in 1989 was recorded and submitted to the WHO-MONICA diagnostic and classification protocol. The annual (1989) coronary event rate for men and women was 112/100,000, with a total mortality rate of 36/100,000 (men, 52/100,000; women, 18/100,000). Event rates for men and women were 162/100,000 and 64/100,000 and fatality rates were 33 and 30%, respectively. The highest event rate 364/100,000, occurring in men 45-64 years of age compared to 120/100,000 in women of the same age group. The study establishes a baseline for coronary event rates, mortality, and case fatality rates. It also defines coronary heart disease in Khartoum and provides means for comparison with other countries. We recommend that the disease receive more health attention, and efforts to define the precipitating risk factors should be undertaken. Health education and preventive measures to curb the disease are needed.