Ten Most Common Diseases in Ghana That Lead Hospitalisation
Written by Prince Assandoh-Mensah in 2017
In this very post, we’re going to look at ten (10) common diseases in Ghana that tops hospital admissions. There have been shifts in the in-patient disease epidemiology. Though communicable diseases such as Malaria and Upper Respiratory Tracts Infections continue to top the list of diseases accounting for OPD visits, the same cannot be said of In-patients diseases.
Currently, most the diseases accounting for admissions are non-communicable – group of diseases that cannot be transmitted from one person to another.
These diseases affect both social economic divide equally; whether low, middle or high income earners; and similarly cut across urban and rural dwellers. Recently, young age is not even a guarantee as it used to be.
More and more adults continue to suffer from diseases such as Hypertension and Diabetes Melitus. Each and every day, a lot of adults are being diagnosed with Diabetes with some presenting with Hyperglycaemia (very high blood sugar level) and others presenting with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (popularly known as DKA – a complication of Diabetes Melitus).
With regards to hypertension, usually people get to know for the first time that they hypertensive when they are rushed to the Emergency Unit as a case of Hypertensive Urgency (a situation where the BP is abnormally high), or Transient Ischaemic Attack ( TIA -usually referred to as a brief stroke that later resolves). Some are unfortunate and only get to know after a Stroke (also known as Cardiovascular Accident – CVA). It’s only in rare cases that people get know after reporting to a health centre for a persistent headache, numbness of feet and/or palpitations (feeling your heart is beating too hard).
These diseases are usually accompanied by Dyslipidaemia or Hyperlipidaemia – that is, disorders with our body cholesterol level. This disease presents with no symptoms and it’s usually diagnosed during routine check. Yet, the bad cholesterol form plagues in us which can narrow or block our blood vessels. When it blocks the blood vessels to the brain, it can cause Stroke – dead of portions of brain cells.
However, when these plagues harden and narrow the blood vessels that supply the heart, it can cause a disease which is known as Coronary Artery Disease, due to limited blood supply to the heart. This disease is predominantly characterized by chest pain (angina). A complete blockage of the blood supply to the heart can cause Heart Attack (also known as Myocardial Infarction– dead of portions of the heart muscle).
Overtime, limited blood supply to the heart can lead to Heart Failure (sometimes referred to as Congestive Heart Failure); a disease in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to the rest of the body.
Blood clots can also cut off the blood supply to the brain or the heart and cause Stroke or Heart Attack respectively.
Another common disease is Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). This condition occurs when a blood clot forms in one or more of the deep veins in your body, usually in your legs. Aside having a medical condition that can predispose you to having this disease, it’s basically a “disease of inactivity” – that’s being confined to bed after surgery or accident, prolonged sitting for a travel or work or sedentary lifestyle. Abuse of medications such as oral contraceptives can also put you at risk. Because it usually present with no symptoms, in most cases, this disease is identified when it causes Pulmonary Embolism, one of its life threatening complications.
Pulmonary Embolism (PE) occurs when the blood clots in your veins break loose, travel through the bloodstream and lodge in the lungs, blocking blood flow. It usually presents with sudden shortness of breath, feeling dizzy and chest pain or discomfort.
