Cardiovascular findings in patients with sickle cell disease

Abstract

Fifty homozygous sicklers and ten heterozygous sickle cell patients selected from the Sickle Cell Clinic, Cardiac Clinic and inpatients on the medical wards of Mulago Hospital form the basis of this dissertation. It starts with a historical review and pathology of sickle cell disease. Cardiovascular alterations in anaemia with emphasis on physiological and pathological considerations in sickle cell disease are discussed. The findings among the patients studied are described dwelling mainly on presenting symptoms, cardiovascular findings notably cardiomegally, murmurs, abnormal heart sounds, electro-cardiographic and x-ray abnormalities. A discussion of findings with reference to work on the same subject by other writers is presented. Some of the possible haemo-dynamic alterations in sickle cell disease are outlined and a need for further elaborate studies in this condition is stressed.