EN
Cardiovascular diseases are widely distributed throughout the world. In Africa they account for about 15% hospital admissions and 10 - 20% fatalities. In the tropics, cardiovascular pathology can be divided into two groups: cardiovascular diseases typical of the tropics (group I) e.g.,: Chagas heart disease, endomyocardial fibrosis and cosmopolitan cardiovascular diseases (group II) e.g.,: arterial hypertension, rheumatic fever, infective endocarditis, peri-carditis or ischemic heart disease. Nutritional deficiencies, severe anemia, parasitic diseases and primary cardiomyopathies are most commonly implicated in the pathogenesis of group I diseases.