Therapeutic Routes of a Group of Heart Failure Patients Followed in a Cameroonian Urban Setting

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a rising global health problem. Patients with HF tend to use several therapies obtained via different treatment routes to relieve their symptoms. It is rampant in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), leading to poor health-seeking behaviours and worsened HF health outcomes. We aimed to describe the different therapeutic routes of HF patients from the onset of their first symptom until treatment in a specialised cardiology centre to identify and rebuke harmful therapeutic routes. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study at the Yaoundé Central Hospital in Cameroon between December 2018 to July 2019. Patients were recruited by consecutive convenient sampling. Adult patients aged above 18 years with confirmed HF were included using the Framingham criteria. Variables relating to socio-demographic and clinical data and the health-seeking behaviours of HF patients were studied. Results: We included 132 patients with a mean age of 62.90 years (62.88% women). Very few patients (0.90%) followed an ideal route; 60.71% of subjects had a pseudo-ideal route, 19.64% accessed a specialised facility directly, and 21.42% used an erratic route. At the arrival time in a cardiology unit, 49.24% and 35.61% of our subjects were in NYHA stage III and IV HF compared to 15.15% for stage II. None of them was in Stage I. Conclusion: Most heart failure patients in Cameroon have resorted to non-specialised care, which worsens their clinical presentation. There is an urgent need for health education of HF patients in our context.