Mortality from congenital and acquired heart disease in children of Villa Clara province

Abstract

Introduction: Children cardiovascular diseases constitute a heterogeneous group of congenital and acquired conditions that represent an important cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality.

Objective: Describe clinically and epidemiologically pediatric patients who died of cardiovascular diseases between 2005 and 2017.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the 117 pediatric patients who died with a diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases in the Villa Clara province, between 2005 and 2017, with a predominance of documentary analysis as a research method.

Results: A mortality rate of 1.6 per 1000 live births was obtained, with a tendency to decrease over time, with a predominance of those who died with white skin (70.09%), and without differences in sex. Congenital heart disease (75.21%) was more frequent, such as aortic coarctation and transposition of large vessels. Among the acquired heart diseases, myocarditis was the most frequent (79.30%). 48.70% of patients were diagnosed in the first week of life and 63.25% of patients received medical treatment. The most frequent causes of death were congenital heart disease itself and multi-organ dysfunction due to sepsis in the congenital group and in those acquired cardiogenic shock.

Conclusions: Congenital heart disease predominated, mainly aortic coarctation. Most patients received only medical treatment and the main direct causes of death were congenital heart disease itself and multi-organ dysfunction.