Embargo: Wednesday 7 May, 00:01 AEST
New tools to help prevent the burden of rheumatic heart disease amongst children
Common and easily preventable heart disease kills over 230,000 people per yeari
Melbourne (07 May, 2014) – Two new studies presented at the World Heart Federation’s World Congress of Cardiology (WCC) today show the importance
of collecting comprehensive patient information nationally and providing timely access to health services in tackling
one of the world’s most neglected and easily prevented diseases in children, rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
RHD, a chronic heart condition caused by acute rheumatic fever (ARF), is the most common acquired heart disease amongst
children in developing countries and affects over 15 million people. RHD is not only a neglected disease, it is also
easily prevented and controlled; acute rheumatic fever can mostly be avoided by treating acute throat infections caused
by group A streptococcus (GAS) with a simple, short course of antibiotics.[World Heart Federation. Rheumatic Heart
Disease factsheet. http://www.world-heart-federation.org/press/fact-sheets/rheumatic-heart-disease/ Last accessed April
2014 ] For those who have had rheumatic fever, monthly injections of long-acting penicillin can prevent recurrent
attacks of rheumatic fever which can lead to further heart valve damage.
On the same day a unique new handbook to support the development of RHD control programmes is launched, new research
puts a spotlight on the steps two countries are taking to better manage RHD and improve the lives of thousands of
children at risk of developing the condition.
New Zealand: a country tackling RHD head on
The New Zealand government has put a priority target in place to reduce rheumatic fever by two thirds by 2017 and is
investing in education and prevention work in at-risk communities in New Zealand’s North Island, working together with
partners to find innovative solutions. As part of these solutions, improvements to the surveillance system to support
programme planning and monitoring have been introduced and a revised patient management system to prevent recurrences of
rheumatic fever is planned.
In addition, the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Auckland and epidemiological experts from across the
country have independently undertaken a large scale audit of different RHD surveillance processes1 in Auckland to better
understand their strengths and weaknesses, as well as identify children with or at risk of developing RHD. [The
processes reviewed included the Auckland Regional Rheumatic Fever Register (ARRFR) hospital admissions data and the
EpiSurv notification database (see notes to editors for further details). ]
As a result of this audit, over 500 children with definite or probable ARF were identified in Auckland [Lennon D et al.
New Zealand’s Unique Experiment: Primary prevention of rheumatic fever with a focus on schools] through a range of these
complementary methods. There is a necessity to have high quality and all-encompassing processes to identify as many
cases as possible of ARF, which can prevent the deaths of hundreds of children every year.
“Rheumatic heart disease is responsible for the deaths of thousands of young people under the age of 25 each day around
the world and cannot be ignored. New Zealand is at the forefront when it comes to RHD prevention and our study shows the
important role that efficient surveillance tools can play to avoid the devastating consequences of acute rheumatic fever
being left untreated,” said Professor Diana Lennon, Department of Paediatrics: Child & Youth Health, The University of Auckland.
Finding and preventing the burden of RHD in India
RHD continues to be a problem in India, but despite this it is overlooked as a public health priority. A study organised
by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) established 10 registries between 2000 and 2010 to look at a range of
factors, which contribute to RHD, including biology and the existing health infrastructure. In addition, the registries
undertook a wide range of prevention activities across India, including community health education campaigns, additional
training for medical teams and prescription of oral antibiotics.[Sharma M et al. Multicentric study to find burden of
Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease and its prevention through secondary prophylaxis in India]
The results of this large study show that the use of this registry-based prevention programme in existing healthcare
settings works well and is a practical and achievable means of preventing and controlling RHD, which can ultimately lead
to fewer deaths in children across India. The study also illustrates the challenges in obtaining representative data
from large countries with great geographic and socio-economic diversity. Additionally, sustaining the effort over
several years will require robust long term policies based on the experience of the registry.
“Too many children die each year from this preventable disease and we have shown how surveillance tools and secondary
prevention techniques delivered through existing healthcare structures can help prevent the onset of rheumatic heart
disease and reduce the burden of heart disease amongst children. Our research demonstrates that it is not only possible
to make a difference, but that it needn’t be a difficult process,” said Meenakshi Sharma, Indian Council of Medical Research, India
The burden of RHD in Australia
In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 8 times more likely to be hospitalised for ARF/RHD and 20
times more likely to die from rheumatic heart disease than any other group. The Heart Foundation’s National
Cardiovascular Health Director Dr Robert Grenfell, said that heart disease was the greatest single contributor to the
gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.
“Many people may think that rheumatic heart disease is a thing of the past, something that happened in the 1950s, but
that isn’t the case: many young Indigenous people from Australia and around the world are living with the burden of this
disease and dying early because of it. The Heart Foundation is passionate about supporting research and projects to
address this serious problem and give more young Indigenous Australians the chance to live a full and healthy life,” said Dr Grenfell.
Tools for implementing RHD programmes: TIPs toolkit
Based on sixty years of experience in RHD prevention and control around the world, the TIPs handbook compiles
interviews, case studies, unpublished reports and peer reviewed publications into an accessible format for the very
first time. Topics include burden of disease data, fundraising, development of RHD registries and the interface with
cardiac surgery. TIPs will be distributed to clinicians and policy makers tackling RHD in endemic countries.
Lead author, Dr Rosemary Wyber, Rheumatic Heart Disease Program Manager at RhEACH describes: “TIPs provides a foundation to describe, design and implement comprehensive RHD control programmes in the areas of
greatest global need. Collating and disseminating lessons from around the world will help make the delivery of RHD control programmes more effective, efficient and sustainable.”
The TIPs handbook is designed to build health system capacity to reach the World Heart Federation’s goal to achieve a
25% reduction in premature deaths from rheumatic fever and RHD among individuals aged under 25 years by 2025. It is also
well aligned with WHF CVD “roadmaps” for implementing national targets around CVD. The Toolkit can be found here:
http://www.rheach.org/tips
ENDS
About the World Congress of Cardiology (WCC)
The World Congress of Cardiology is the official congress of the World Heart Federation and is held every two years. The
congress brings together thousands of cardiologists and other healthcare professionals from around the world, and
represents an important forum for discussing all aspects of prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. WCC 2014
is taking place in Melbourne, Australia from 4-7 May 2014.
About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation is the only global advocacy and leadership organization bringing together the cardiovascular
disease (CVD) community to help people everywhere lead heart-healthy lives. We strive for a world where there are at
least 25% fewer premature deaths from CVD by 2025.
That’s why we and our 200+ members work courageously to end needless deaths from exposure to tobacco and other risk
factors, lack of access to treatment, and neglected conditions like rheumatic heart disease which kills hundreds of
thousands of children each year. Across 100 countries, with its members, the World Heart Federation works to build
global commitment to addressing cardiovascular health at the policy level, generates and exchanges ideas, shares best
practice, advances scientific knowledge and promotes knowledge transfer to tackle CVD– the world’s number one killer.
World Heart Federation is at the heart of driving the CVD agenda and advocating for better heart health – enabling
people to live longer, better and more heart healthy lives whoever and wherever they are.
For more information, please visit: www.worldheart.org, www.facebook.com/worldheartfederation and
twitter.com/worldheartfed