RHD Action

• Australia
• West Kimberley Kriol
• Communities

This short film carries important health warnings and information about preventing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. Key messages for communities and families about the impact of acute rheumatic fever: people with rheumatic fever need penicillin in their body all the time to kill any strep germs and prevent heart damage; to prevent rheumatic fever; wash your hands; keep a clean house to keep the Strep germ away; and treat skin sores and sore throats. The film is now available in English and five other Indigenous languages. All are available in the RHDA resource database. The original film in Bururra language was produced in response to a health emergency (an outbreak of acute rheumatic fever) in the Indigenous community of Maningrida in the Northern Territory.

• Brazil
• English
• Communities

In Brazil, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) still kills or disables thousands of children and young adults. “Brazilian cardiologists and cardiac surgeons see the results of rheumatic fever regularly” said Dr Rui Ramos, of the Brazilian Heart Foundation. “It is all the more tragic when you know that it is a preventable disease that has been eliminated in many parts of the world.”

• New Caledonia
• English
• Communities

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), a disease practically eliminated in industrialized nations, continues to be a public health concern among children in New Caledonia, along with other parts of the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. The World Heart Federation is dedicated to eradicating this disease of inequality.

• International
• English
• Clinician - community health worker

Under the leadership of the World Heart Federation, Dr Bo Remenyi, Dr Nigel Wilson and Prof Jonathan Carapetis joined 18 colleagues from around the world to develop the first set of international evidence-based guidelines for the echocardiographic diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). We asked Dr Remenyi, lead author of the guidelines, to share her views on the importance of this publication.

• Sudan
• English
• Communities

Sulafa Ali: a pioneer of paediatric cardiology in Sudan

Priya Shetty
Published online: 20 February 2014

The Lancet
Volume 383, No. 9918, p687, 22 February 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60247-6

• Namibia
• English
• Communities

National Advisory Committee for Prevention and Control of Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease in Namibia.

Report presented to PASCAR in 2015, prepared by:

Dr Christopher Hugo-Hamman, Centre for Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease

Dr Norbert Forster, Deputy Permanent Secretary

Ministry of Health and Social Services, Namibia

• International
• English
• Communities

A single episode or repeated episodes of acute rheumatic fever can severely damage the heart valves, leading to rheumatic heart disease — a chronic condition that can cause heart failure. This PrimeView highlights that these conditions are most common in developing countries and are strongly related to socioeconomic disadvantage.

Nature Reviews Disease Primers 2, Article number: 15085 (2016)
doi:10.1038/nrdp.2015.85

• International
• English
• Communities

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) key opinion leaders, health ministers, clinicians, and industry representatives gathered in Ethiopia in February 2015. The question: how to eradicate RHD in Africa. The response: the Addis Ababa communiqué, a practical document outlining seven major barriers to RHD control in Africa and seven strategies to address them.

Andrea Beaton & Craig Sable
Nature Reviews Cardiology (2016) doi:10.1038/nrcardio.2016.28
Published online 03 March 2016

• Australia
• English
• Communities

Take Heart: Australian documentary shines light on the heart condition affecting thousands of Indigenous Australians.

Director Mike Hill and Darwin based paediatric cardiologist Dr Bo Remenyi joins Fran Kelly on RN Breakfast.

• Australia
• English
• Communities

Health groups are hoping a documentary which premieres in Melbourne tonight will help raise awareness about the high risk of rheumatic heart disease facing Australasian Indigenous children.

The disease starts as a simple sore throat, but ends up killing more than 1,000 people globally every day.

Rachael Brown reports for ABC News PM program

• International
• English
• Communities

Take Heart: Road to Addis

More information on the Take Heart project can be found here

• New Zealand
• English
• Communities

Authors: Paula Seymour, Michelle Ede, Mareta Ferguson - Home Health Care, Auckland, New Zealand

District Nurses in Counties Manukau, New Zealand provide recurrence prevention to those who have had Acute Rheumatic Fever.

Following a complaint, 20 incidents and > 10% of people not receiving their injection within 5 days of the due date - we wanted to know why?

• International
• English
• Clinician - community health worker

Heart digital media editor Dr. James Rudd is joined by Dr Michelle Ploutz from the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC, to discuss her recent paper in Heart, entitled "Handheld echocardiographic screening for rheumatic heart disease by non-experts".

They cover using echocardiography, performed by trained local nurses, to diagnose rheumatic heart disease in Uganda. The need for this approach, and how it fared in this study of 1000 African school children are revealed.

• Kenya
• English
• Communities

The “Kenyan-Heart Talking Walls” are another tool for imparting knowledge & information on How to Prevent Rheumatic Heart Disease.

The “Kenya-Heart Talking Walls” is an initiative of the Kenyan-Heart National Foundation that was launched on 16th February 2006. Due to its graphical nature, the Kenyan-Heart Talking walls have turned out to be a very effective Teaching Aid for both the Teachers who are patrons of the Kenyan-Heart Clubs and the Children. You can view images of the "Kenyan Heart Talking Walls" here

• International
• English

St Edmund Hall DPhil student David Springer discusses his research as part of project to make an easy-to-use diagnostic kit for use in developing countries to enable earlier detection of Rheumatic Heart Disease.