Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Diseases

**151**

**Chapter 10**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

Lifestyle and Epidemiology:

Poverty and Cardiovascular

Diseases a Double Burden in

*Franck Ngowa Nzali, Mazou Ngou Temgoua,* 

*Joel Noutakdie Tochie and Simeon Pierre Ckoukem*

**Keywords:** epidemiology, poverty, cardiovascular, disease, Africa

CVDs and healthcare systems related to CVDs in Africa.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), ranked top non-communicable diseases (NCDs), are the second leading cause of mortality in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where they account for 73·4% global deaths and 80% of all premature deaths yearly. The ill-health due to CVDs in SSA is equivalent to the combined burden due to communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases. Un-addressed, it is extrapolated that the Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 which targets NCDs will not be achieved. The preponderance of CVDs in SSA is due to determinants such as the epidemiological transition of diseases, aging, stress, illiteracy, poor health systems and poverty. This is quite worrisome for SSA dubbed "one of the most poverty stricken region on the globe". As such, poverty in Africa may adversely affect CVDs, but this has been less examined. This chapter explores the impact of poverty on CVDs and healthcare systems related to CVDs in Africa.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as heart failure, cerebrovascular diseases, and ischemic heart diseases are major plaques in Africa. The burden of CVDs is high in Africa and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where the magnitude of CVDs is equivalent to the combined magnitude due to communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases. In Africa the burden of CVDs, is partly flued by poverty which is often overlooked. This chapter discusses the impact of poverty on

**2. Epidemiological transition and cardiovascular diseases in Africa**

Epidemiological transition can be defined as the transition, under the influence of socio-economic development and aging, from predominantly infectious diseases to mainly chronic non-communicable diseases [1]. This concept was first introduced in the 1971's by Omrad and Olshansky, and Ault later on refined

African Populations
