Research Article Coronary Artery Disease and the Profile of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in South South Nigeria: A Clinical and Autopsy Study Okon Ekwere Essien, 1 Joseph Andy, 2 Victor Ansa, 1 Akaninyene Asuquo Otu, 1 and Alphonsus Udoh 3 1 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, PMB 1278, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria 2 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, PMB 1136, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria 3 Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, PMB 1278, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria Correspondence should be addressed to Akaninyene Asuquo Otu; akanotu@yahoo.com Received 2 January 2014; Accepted 5 February 2014; Published 10 March 2014 Academic Editor: Vicky A. Cameron Copyright © 2014 Okon Ekwere Essien et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction. Death from coronary artery disease (CAD) has been until recently considered rare in Nigeria. We present a report of a study of CAD with its predisposing cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors in South South Nigeria. Methods. We examined the autopsy reports of 747 coroner cases and 41 consecutive clinically diagnosed cases of ischemic heart disease seen in South South Nigeria. Results. CAD was diagnosed in 13 (1.6%) of 747 autopsies. Tey were predominantly males, urban residents, and of high social class with combination of CVD risk factors of hypertension, alcohol use, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, poor physical activities, and obesity. Te mean serum cholesterol of the clinical subjects was 4.7 ± 1.57 mmol/L and 5.07 ± 1.94 mmol/L for angina and myocardial infarction, respectively, which was higher than the mean total cholesterol for locality of 3.1 mmol/L. Conclusion. CAD and its risk factors are contributing to mortality and morbidity in South South Nigeria. Tese risk factors include hypertension, alcohol use, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, poor physical activity, and obesity. Nigerians in this locality with CAD have raised serum lipids. 1. Introduction Death from coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocar- dial infarction (MI) and stroke due to artherosclerosis has attained epidemic proportions in the middle aged and elderly persons in the majority of industrialized countries, account- ing for about 50% of all deaths [1, 2]. It has also become the leading cause of death in many developing countries of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, with increasing incidence [3]. Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) from CAD and its compli- cation, MI, had been shown, by earlier studies done between 1940 and 1970, to be extremely uncommon in Sub-Saharan Africa [4–7]. However, more recent reports indicate that CAD/MI are now more frequently recognized in Nigeria, both clinically and at autopsy, although the incidence is still low compared to that reported in developed countries [8–14]. Te established major risk factors that predispose to CAD/MI include hyperlipidemia/dyslipidaemia, systemic hypertension, cigarette smoking, diabetes mellitus, sedentary lifestyle, and obesity [15–17]. Only fve of these risk factors have been shown to account for about 89.9% of frst MI in Africans. Tese are current/former tobacco smoking, self- reported systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, abdominal obesity measured as waist hip ratio (WHR), and dyslipi- daemia [18]. Data from a study shows that Africans who acquire these risk factors either singly or in multiple combi- nations are at risk of developing CAD and its complications as other people across the globe [19]. Te lifestyles of residents of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, have signifcantly been afected by modernization and cultural interaction with Europe, throughout much of the 20th century. Te incidence of most of the major CVD risk factors is increasing in most groups of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, due to sociocultural and socioeconomic changes resulting in the epidemiological transition the region is passing through [20, 21]. Te slow emergence of CAD/MI is probably due to Hindawi Publishing Corporation Cardiology Research and Practice Volume 2014, Article ID 804751, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/804751