EPISODES of acute rheumatic fever are believed to be triggered by infections with group-A /3-hemolytic streptococei, 10 to 35 days prior to the rheumatic complication. However, both rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are infrequent in Miami, Florida.1' 2 If the incidence rate of rheumatic disease depends on the frequeney of group A streptococei, the low rheumatic rate in Miamni should ...

Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease continue to be major public health problems in the developing world, particularly in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Because of its cost effectiveness, secondary prophylaxis is advocated as the principal means of disease prevention and control. However, in developing countries, valvular damage, due to earlier, unrecognized episodes of rheumatic f...

A total of 14 cases of infective endocarditis (IE) in children aged 6 months to 10 years were seen from December 1987 to December 1992 at the pediatric unit of Ayatollah Taleghani Medical Center. The majority of patients (12 of 14) were between 5 and 10 years of age. Acyanotic congenital heart disease was known to preexist in 78.6% and rheumatic valvular heart disease in 21.4% of cases. Or...

G ROUP A streptococcal infection initiates acute rheumatic fever; rheumatic valvular heart disease is a sequela that develops during or subsequent to the acute rheumatic episode. The mechanism by which the preceding streptococcal infection produces the arthritic and constitutional symptoms and valvular heart disease is unknown. Regardless of the mechanism involved, there is little doubt that pr...

Rheumatic heart disease, already a major burden in low- and middle-income countries, is becoming an emerging problem in high-income countries. Although acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease have almost been eradicated in areas with established economies, the emergence of this problem may be attributable to the migration from low-income to high-income settings. Between 2010 and 2012,...

Renal co-morbidity is common in patients with rheumatic disease based on regular assessment of serum and urine parameters of renal function. When patients present with both arthritis and renal abnormalities the following questions have to be addressed. Is kidney disease a complication of rheumatic disease or its management, or are they both manifestations of a single systemic autoimmune disease...

BACKGROUND The incidence of rheumatic heart disease is great in Brazil. We analyzed the distribution of human leukocyte (HLA) antigens in a Brazilian population sample with rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease, with the aim of better understanding the mechanisms involved. METHODS AND RESULTS HLA class I (A, B, and C) and class II (DR and DQ) antigen distribution was studied in 40 patien...