Search
To generate contemporary age-specific mortality rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians aged <65 years who died from rheumatic heart disease between 2013 and 2017, and to ascertain the underlying causes of death of a prevalent RHD cohort aged <65 years who died during the same period.
Between 1964 and 1996, the 10-year survival of patients having valve replacement surgery for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the Northern Territory, Australia, was 68%. As medical care has evolved since then, this study aimed to determine whether there has been a corresponding improvement in survival.
The impact of mitral regurgitation from pediatric rheumatic heart disease and its effect on left ventricular remodeling and function following surgical intervention is uncertain. The objective is to explore the impact of mitral valve surgeries on myocardial mechanics, remodeling and function and identify pre-operative predictors of post-operative dysfunction which may contribute to the optimal timing of intervention.
Regular intramuscular benzathine penicillin G injections have been the cornerstone of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis since the 1950s. As the pharmacological correlate of protection remains unknown, it is difficult to recommend changes to this established regimen. Determining the minimum effective penicillin exposure required to prevent Streptococcus pyogenes infection will accelerate development of new long-acting penicillins for RHD prevention as well as inform opportunities to improve existing regimens. The CHIPS trial will address this knowledge gap by directly testing protection afforded by different steady state plasma concentrations of penicillin in an established model of experimental human S. pyogenes pharyngitis.
Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, with devastating impacts on morbidity, mortality and community wellbeing. Research suggests that general practitioners and primary care staff perceive insurmountable barriers to improving clinical outcomes, including the need for systemic change outside their scope of practice.
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a long-term sequela of acute rheumatic fever (ARF), which classically begins after an untreated or undertreated infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A). RHD develops after the heart valves are permanently damaged due to ARF.
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most important cause of acquired cardiovascular disease in children and young adults. Virtually non-existent in most of Australia, it still predominantly affects Aboriginal communities.
Rheumatic heart disease is a major cause of premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality globally. Over the past decade, echocardiographic screening has changed our understanding of the natural history of RHD, revealing a high burden of clinically silent, mild RHD among people who cannot recall a history of preceding acute rheumatic fever. This viewpoint outlines the evidence that this earliest form of rheumatic heart disease, only detectable through echocardiographic screening, is an intermediate stage that many, but not all, individuals may pass through on the pathway to advanced rheumatic heart disease.
Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) causes a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from pharyngitis and impetigo to severe invasive infections and immune-mediated conditions such as acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Contemporary data on the global burden of Strep A diseases are lacking.
To determine age-specific and age-standardised incidence trends of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) or rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among Indigenous Western Australians aged less than 35 years of age.