Amy Sanyahumbi1, Andrea Beaton2, Danielle Guffey3, Mina C. Hosseinipour4, Melissa Karlsten1, Charles G. Minard3, Daniel J. Penny1, Craig A. Sable5, Peter N. Kazembe6
Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 614-618, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12756
Abstract Background: In asymptomatic children, screening echocardiography has been used to
attempt to diagnose rheumatic heart disease (RHD) at an early stage (latent RHD).
World Heart Federation guidelines have standardized categorization of “definite,”
“borderline,” or no RHD by echo findings. The progression of RHD diagnosed through
echo screening is not known. In 2014, we screened 1450 schoolchildren in Malawi.
Objective: Our objective was to evaluate 2‐year RHD evolution among those diag‐
nosed through screening.
Methods: Two‐year follow‐up echocardiograms of those diagnosed with latent RHD
were read by a primary, secondary, then third reader if there was disagreement.
Progression or… More >