Paving the Way to Ending Rheumatic Heart Disease: From Policy to People
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) affects 39 million people worldwide and is the most commonly acquired heart disease in people under the age of 25. A devastating disease that claims 291,000 lives every year, it mostly affects children and adolescents in low-resource settings where poverty is widespread and access to health services is limited. Yet, RHD is fully preventable and despite having been eradicated in high income countries, RHD continues to affect some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised populations.