Overview
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a chronic inflammatory condition resulting from rheumatic fever, primarily affecting heart valves, leading to valvular dysfunction and significant morbidity and mortality, especially in low- and middle-income countries 1521.Diagnosis
Management
Special Populations
Key Recommendations
References
Showing 100 most recent of 816 indexed papers.
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Early rheumatic heart disease is a recognized intermediate on the pathway to advanced rheumatic heart disease. International journal of cardiology 2026. link 6 Warren PW, Wirth S, Pulle J, Nakaagayi D, Akia CO, Ayaa E et al.. Evaluation of a training program for rheumatic heart disease screening integrated into the public health system in Uganda. PloS one 2026. link 7 Ali SKM. Implementing the World Health Organization Guidelines for Rheumatic Heart Disease in Highly Endemic Settings: Balancing Evidence with Reality. Global heart 2026. link 8 Akbaş A, Güler S, Duman ZM, Apaydın Z, Yazıcı B, Karakoç KG et al.. Robotic vs. sternotomy mitral valve replacement in rheumatic disease: early postoperative outcomes compared. General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2026. link 9 Gupta S, Thornley S, Morris A, Sundborn G, Grant C. Is Scabies the Key to Rheumatic Heart Disease Prevention? A Systematic Review of the Evidence. The Australasian journal of dermatology 2026. link 10 Shibata M, Kim K, Ono Y, Kim HR, Kim HJ, Yoo JS et al.. Risk of reoperation following rheumatic mitral repair: Long-term longitudinal analysis. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2026. link 11 Kalasipudi R, Gupta S, Meghdadi A, Gupta S, Abu-Omar Y, Al-Akhtar A et al.. Management of Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients with Rheumatic Mitral Disease. Portuguese journal of cardiac thoracic and vascular surgery 2026. link 12 Meel R, Kaswa R. Primary health care approach to rheumatic heart disease management. South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care 2026. link 13 Skiba R, Cheok TS, Morrison C, Anderson SR, Rice G, Bennetts J et al.. Mitral Valve Surgery for Rheumatic Heart Disease in Indigenous Australians: A 27-Year Cohort Study of Repair Versus Replacement Outcomes. Heart, lung & circulation 2026. link 14 Nalawade D, Shetty PP, Thakkar K, Garg A, Malani SK. Rare coexistence of unroofed coronary sinus, coronary sinus atresia and rheumatic mitral stenosis demonstrated by multimodality imaging. BMJ case reports 2026. link 15 Yeow S, Frost H, Porrello ER, Steer A, Voges HK. Valve biology and rheumatic heart disease pathogenesis. Nature cardiovascular research 2026. link 16 Beig JR, Rashid W, Kumar D, Haq I, Achakzai KK, Mir KM et al.. Long-Term Effect of Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Commissurotomy on Atrial Electromechanical Delay and P-Wave Dispersion in Patients With Severe Mitral Stenosis. Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc 2026. link 17 Ndagire E, Rwebembera J, Kaudha G, Pulle J, Nakitto M, Alepere J et al.. Implementation and evaluation of a pragmatic community streptococcal treatment programme to improve rheumatic heart disease primary prevention in Uganda. BMJ global health 2026. link 18 Liu Z, Zhang H, Wang M, Ren Y, Liang J, Zhao S et al.. Predictors and prognosis of mild regurgitation after rheumatic mitral valve repair: A dual-center cohort analysis on the basis of cardiac computed tomography. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2026. link 19 Williamson JM, Whalley GA, Marangou J, Morris PS, Wang Z, Francis JR et al.. Application of the New 2023 World Heart Federation Criteria to Rheumatic Heart Disease in the Setting of First Episode of Acute Rheumatic Fever: Predictors for Resolution. Pediatric cardiology 2026. link 20 Dhiman S, Sharma KA, Dadhwal V, Gupta A, Kulshrestha V, Kadiyani L et al.. Predictive factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with rheumatic valvular heart disease: A single-center retrospective analysis. International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics 2026. link 21 Zühlke L, Beaton A, Engel M, Gomanju A, Kumar RK, Marangou J et al.. Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. Nature reviews. Disease primers 2026. link 22 Wirth SH, Pulle J, Akiya CO, Ayaa E, Pardo M, Odong F et al.. Delivering Rheumatic Heart Disease Diagnosis at Scale: Performance of an Integrated Public Health Screening Program in Northern Uganda. Journal of the American Heart Association 2026. link 23 Zhang W, Song J, Xian S, Xie S, Liu Y, Yao Y et al.. A bibliometric analysis of rheumatology: knowledge structure and research trends of RNA-Binding proteins in rheumatic diseases. Clinical rheumatology 2025. link 24 Mlíchová J, Mészáros V, Šimandl O, Kmoníčková E, Kalátová D, Paluch Z. Safety Profile of Meloxicam: Analysis of Adverse Event Reports in the Czech Republic. Neuro endocrinology letters 2025. link 25 Williamson JM, Whalley GA, Horton AE, Morris P, Remenyi B. Elevated Trans-mitral Pressure Gradient Predicts Surgery in Young People with Moderate-Severe Rheumatic Mitral Regurgitation. Pediatric cardiology 2025. link 26 Bai L, Li Y, Lu C, Yang Y, Zhang J, Lu Z et al.. Anti-IL-17 Inhibits PINK1/Parkin Autophagy and M1 Macrophage Polarization in Rheumatic Heart Disease. Inflammation 2025. link 27 Singh BK, Tomar JS, Jain R, Prakash S, Narayan S. Undiagnosed rheumatic carditis causing sudden death in a young adult: A case report and review. The Medico-legal journal 2025. link 28 Amador AF, Costa C, Pinto R, Carvalho M, Proença T, Calvão J et al.. 20-year follow-up of rheumatic mitral stenosis patients after percutaneous mitral commissurotomy: invasive transmitral gradient differential as a predictor of events. Monaldi archives for chest disease = Archivio Monaldi per le malattie del torace 2025. link 29 Rusingiza E, Schulick N, Umuganwa P, Ntirushwa D, Dusingizimana V, Uwamariya J et al.. Reproductive health among women of child-bearing age after surgery for rheumatic heart disease in Rwanda. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2025. link 30 Zhang C, Xiao Z, Yang D. Association Between the Expression of T Helper Type 17 Cell-Related Cytokines and Valve Damage in Rheumatic Heart Disease. Molecular biotechnology 2025. link 31 Rani A, Singh L, Chakraborti A, Gupta S, Singh H, Toor D. Fetuin-A as a plausible biomarker for cardiac valve calcification in rheumatic heart disease patients from North India. Asian cardiovascular & thoracic annals 2025. link 32 Zhu L, Li N, Shi H, Song J, Fang Z, Shen Q et al.. Hsa_circ_0000437 promotes the progression of rheumatic valvular heart disease by activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways after sponging let-7f-5p and targeting RAS-like proto-oncogene B. Human cell 2025. link 33 Abrams J, Vinhal WC, Sable CA, Cardoso CS, Zühlke L, Spaziani A et al.. Rheumatic Heart Disease Education Tools Integrated Into a Screening Program in Brazil: Acceptability and Knowledge Gain. Global heart 2025. link 34 Licciardi F, Baldini L, Del Monte F, Geranzani A, Mulatero R, Covizzi C et al.. Persistent Valvular Regurgitation After Acute Rheumatic Fever: Early Predictors of Long Term Outcomes in a Pediatric Retrospective Cohort. Pediatric cardiology 2025. link 35 Saha RN, Varada VK, Egala A, Duggal B. Management of pregnancy with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis presenting at term in congestive heart failure: our experience. BMC cardiovascular disorders 2025. link 36 Bray JJ, Thompson S, Seitler S, Ali SA, Yiu J, Salehi M et al.. Long-term antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of rheumatic fever recurrence and progression to rheumatic heart disease. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews 2024. link 37 Seitler S, Ahmad M, Ahuja SAC, Ahmed MT, Stevenson A, Schreiber TR et al.. Routine Antenatal Echocardiography in High-Prevalence Areas of Rheumatic Heart Disease: A WHO-Guideline Systematic Review. Global heart 2024. link 38 Williams HJ, Cannon GW, Clegg DO. John R. Ward, MD: Pioneer-Clinical Trials in Rheumatology. Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America 2024. link 39 Cintron D, Chang JC, Sadun RE. Transition to Adult Rheumatology Care: A Disease-Specific Guide. Journal of clinical rheumatology : practical reports on rheumatic & musculoskeletal diseases 2024. link 40 Auyezkhankyzy D, Khojakulova U, Yessirkepov M, Qumar AB, Zimba O, Kocyigit BF et al.. Nurses' roles, interventions, and implications for management of rheumatic diseases. Rheumatology international 2024. link 41 Piedade AP, Butler J, Eyre S, Orozco G. The importance of functional genomics studies in precision rheumatology. Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology 2024. link 42 Labinsky H, Nagler LK, Krusche M, Griewing S, Aries P, Kroiß A et al.. Vignette-based comparative analysis of ChatGPT and specialist treatment decisions for rheumatic patients: results of the Rheum2Guide study. Rheumatology international 2024. link 43 Muehlensiepen F, Petit P, Knitza J, Welcker M, Vuillerme N. Prediction of the acceptance of telemedicine among rheumatic patients: a machine learning-powered secondary analysis of German survey data. Rheumatology international 2024. link 44 Bedir Ö, Evlice M, Kurt İH. Relationship between echocardiographic parameters and ALBI score in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis. The international journal of cardiovascular imaging 2024. link 45 Saunders R, Gunawijaya E, Hartawan INB, Putra IGNS, Widnyana AANKP, Sukmawati M. Correlation of n-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide levels with the severity of single mitral regurgitation or accompanied by mild aorta valve dysfunction in patients with rheumatic heart disease in Sanglah general hospital. Cardiology in the young 2024. link 46 Zhao W, Huang G, Ye J. LINC00707 inhibits myocardial fibrosis and immune disorder in rheumatic heart disease by regulating miR-145-5p/S1PR1. Biotechnology & genetic engineering reviews 2024. link 47 Hauge SW, Estensen ME, Persson R, Abebe S, Mekonnen D, Nega B et al.. The importance of concomitant mitral regurgitation for estimates of mitral valve area by pressure half time in patients with chronic rheumatic heart disease. International journal of cardiology 2024. link 48 Ambari AM, Qhabibi FR, Desandri DR, Dwiputra B, Baravia PA, Makes IK et al.. Unveiling the Group A Streptococcus Vaccine-Based L-Rhamnose from Backbone of Group A Carbohydrate: Current Insight Against Acute Rheumatic Fever to Reduce the Global Burden of Rheumatic Heart Disease. F1000Research 2024. link 49 Rwebembera J, Marangou J, Mwita JC, Mocumbi AO, Mota C, Okello E et al.. 2023 World Heart Federation guidelines for the echocardiographic diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease. Nature reviews. Cardiology 2024. link 50 Nascimento BR, Nunes MCP, da Silva JLP, Steer A, Engelman D, Okello E et al.. Outcomes of latent rheumatic heart disease: External validation of a simplified score in patients with and without secondary prophylaxis. International journal of cardiology 2024. link 51 Rekhtman D, Bermudez F, Vervoort D, Kaze L, Patton-Bolman C, Swain J. A Global Systematic Review of Open Heart Valvular Surgery in Resource-Limited Settings. The Annals of thoracic surgery 2024. link 52 Mutagaywa RK, Kifai E, Elinisa M, Mayala H, Kisenge P, Shemu T et al.. Comparison between interventional versus medical therapy in patients with rheumatic mitral valve stenosis in Tanzania. European journal of clinical investigation 2024. link 53 Karthikeyan G, Ntsekhe M, Islam S, Rangarajan S, Avezum A, Benz A et al.. Mortality and Morbidity in Adults With Rheumatic Heart Disease. JAMA 2024. link 54 Keepanasseril A, Pande SN, Suriya Y, Baghel J, Mondal N, Pillai AA et al.. Comparing the outcomes of rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy complicated with and without atrial fibrillation: A propensity score matched analysis. American heart journal 2024. link 55 Lima MR, Brito J, Almeida M, Teles RC. Combined transcatheter aortic valve and tricuspid valve-in-valve implantation in a patient with a mitral mechanical prosthesis. Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions : official journal of the Society for Cardiac Angiography & Interventions 2024. link 56 Pandian NG, Kim JK, Arias-Godinez JA, Marx GR, Michelena HI, Chander Mohan J et al.. Recommendations for the Use of Echocardiography in the Evaluation of Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Report from the American Society of Echocardiography. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography 2023. link 57 Rezus E, Codreanu C. From Pathogenesis to Treatment-New Perspectives in Rheumatology. International journal of molecular sciences 2023. link 58 de la Torre Rubio N, Pavía Pascual M, Campos Esteban J, Godoy Tundidor H, Fernández Castro M, Andréu Sánchez JL. Usefulness of an electronic consultation system between primary care health centres and the rheumatology department of a tertiary hospital. Reumatologia clinica 2023. link 59 Laloğlu F, Laloğlu E, Ceviz N, Güler MA. Serum endocan levels in children with rheumatic aortic insufficiency: can it differentiate bicuspid aortic valve disease from rheumatic heart disease?. Cardiology in the young 2023. link 60 Lindholm DE, Whiteman IJ, Oliver J, Cheung MMH, Hope SA, Brizard CP et al.. Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in children and adolescents in Victoria, Australia. Journal of paediatrics and child health 2023. link 61 Sharma S, Sarkar S, Choudhury C, Singh L, Singh H, Chakraborti A. Alpha-1-antitrypsin in serum exosomes and pericardial fluid exosomes is associated with severity of rheumatic heart disease. Molecular and cellular biochemistry 2023. link 62 Kim HR, Kim WK, Kim HJ, Kim JB, Jung SH, Choo SJ et al.. The fate of aortic valve after rheumatic mitral valve surgery. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2023. link 63 Al-Jazairi AS, Althobaiti AM, Marek J, Devol EB, Al Halees Z, Mohty D et al.. Does Secondary Antibiotic Prophylaxis Improve Clinical Outcomes in Adult Rheumatic Heart Disease Patients Post-Valve Replacement?. World journal for pediatric & congenital heart surgery 2023. link 64 Park MH, Pandya PK, Zhu Y, Mullis DM, Wang H, Imbrie-Moore AM et al.. A Novel Rheumatic Mitral Valve Disease Model with Ex Vivo Hemodynamic and Biomechanical Validation. Cardiovascular engineering and technology 2023. link 65 Verma R, Latter DA. Anticoagulation for rheumatic mitral stenosis, INVICTUS in perspective. Current opinion in cardiology 2023. link 66 Kim WK, Kim SE, Yoo JS, Jung JH, Kim DH, Kim JB et al.. Impact of valve repair on mild tricuspid insufficiency in rheumatic mitral surgery. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2023. link 67 Gadioli LP, Costa FA, Moreira HT, Crescêncio JC, Bertini CQ, Marques F et al.. Use of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing to Assess Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients With Rheumatic Mitral Valve Disease: A Comparative Study With Echocardiography. Current problems in cardiology 2023. link 68 Kambhatla S, Vipparthy S, Manadan AM. Rheumatic diseases associated with alveolar hemorrhage: analysis of the national inpatient sample. Clinical rheumatology 2023. link 69 Chen CY, Chan YH, Wu VC, Liu KS, Cheng YT, Chu PH et al.. Bioprosthetic versus mechanical mitral valve replacements in patients with rheumatic heart disease. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2023. link 70 Machipisa T, Chishala C, Shaboodien G, Zühlke LJ, Muhamed B, Pandie S et al.. Rationale, Design, and the Baseline Characteristics of the RHDGen (The Genetics of Rheumatic Heart Disease) Network Study†. Circulation. Genomic and precision medicine 2023. link 71 Lam CKM, Thorn J, Lyon X, Waugh E, Piper B, Wing-Lun E. Rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy: Maternal and neonatal outcomes in the Top End of Australia. The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology 2023. link 72 Parks T, Narube L, Perman ML, Sakumeni K, Fong JJ, Engelman D et al.. Population-based assessment of cardiovascular complications of rheumatic heart disease in Fiji: a record-linkage analysis. BMJ open 2023. link 73 Løgstrup BB. Heart Failure in Rheumatic Disease: Secular Trends and Novel Insights. Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America 2023. link 74 Wang YC, Lin MS, Huang AP, Wu CC, Kung WM. Association between systemic rheumatic diseases and dementia risk: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in immunology 2022. link 75 Beaton A, Okello E, Rwebembera J, Grobler A, Engelman D, Alepere J et al.. Secondary Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Latent Rheumatic Heart Disease. The New England journal of medicine 2022. link 76 Ishchenko A, Scriffignano S, Coates L. Women in rheumatology: major contributions and key discoveries of the twentieth century. Rheumatology (Oxford, England) 2022. link 77 Johnson SR, Turner AS, Goodman SM. How the American College of Rheumatology Develops Guidelines. Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America 2022. link 78 Hausmann JS, Weitzman ER. The Promises and Perils of Social Media for Pediatric Rheumatology. Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America 2022. link 79 Muehlensiepen F, May S, Zarbl J, Vogt E, Boy K, Heinze M et al.. At-home blood self-sampling in rheumatology: a qualitative study with patients and health care professionals. BMC health services research 2022. link 80 Rémond MGW, Li Z, Vaughan G, Frawley J, Peek MJ, Carapetis JR et al.. The Spectrum, Severity and Outcomes of Rheumatic Mitral Valve Disease in Pregnant Women in Australia and New Zealand. Heart, lung & circulation 2022. link 81 Johannsen RA, Kaltenborn ZP, Shroff GR. Saving time saves lives! A time focused evaluation of a single-view echocardiographic screening protocol for subclinical rheumatic heart disease. International journal of cardiology 2022. link 82 Zhu L, Wang Z, Sun L, Zheng D, Hu B, Li N et al.. Hsa_circ_0000437 upregulates and promotes disease progression in rheumatic valvular heart disease. Journal of clinical laboratory analysis 2022. link 83 Sivak L, O'Brien M, Paolucci O, Wade V, Lizama C, Halkon C et al.. Improving the well-being for young people living with rheumatic heart disease: A peer support pilot program through Danila Dilba Health Service. Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals 2022. link 84 Jiao Y, Luo T, Meng X, Wang J. Decade-long mitral valve surgery trends and rheumatic heart disease: a review of mitral valve surgery in a large Chinese cardiovascular center. Annals of palliative medicine 2022. link 85 Shrestha NR, Uranw S, Karki P, Bastola S, Mahato R, Sherpa K et al.. Prevalence of latent structural heart disease in Nepali schoolchildren. Cardiology in the young 2022. link 86 Dixit J, Brar S, Prinja S. Burden of Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis, Rheumatic Fever, and Rheumatic Heart Disease in India: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Indian journal of pediatrics 2022. link 87 Leviner DB, Sharoni E. Surgical ablation in rheumatic heart disease-Uncharted territory. Journal of cardiac surgery 2022. link 88 Poomarimuthu M, Ramasamy T, Govindan R, Andiappan R, Nagarajan G, Kadiam S et al.. Association of HLA-DRB1 Alleles with Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Meta-analysis. Immunological investigations 2022. link 89 Manohar P, Naik L R, Mohan Rao PS. Auto-Pericardial Mitral Valve Implantation: A Pilot Study. Heart, lung & circulation 2022. link 90 Sharma G, Ghati N, Doshi S, Sharma S, Sharique M, Agarwal A et al.. Incidence and predictors of de novo late-onset persistent atrial fibrillation in postoperative rheumatic heart disease patients (LOAF-RHD study). Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing 2022. link 91 Brescia AA, Watt TMF, Murray SL, Rosenbloom LM, Kleeman KC, Allgeyer H et al.. Rheumatic mitral valve repair or replacement in the valve-in-valve era. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2022. link 92 Chen SW, Chen CY, Chien-Chia Wu V, Chou AH, Cheng YT, Chang SH et al.. Mitral valve repair versus replacement in patients with rheumatic heart disease. The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery 2022. link 93 Rentta NN, Bennett J, Leung W, Webb R, Jack S, Harwood M et al.. Medical Treatment for Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Narrative Review. Heart, lung & circulation 2022. link 94 Arafuri N, Murni IK, Julia M, Nugroho S, Soehadi N. Survival of Rheumatic Heart Disease in Indonesian Children. Global heart 2022. link 95 Ko KY, Cho I, Kim S, Seong Y, Kim DY, Seo JW et al.. Identification of Distinct Subgroups in Moderately Severe Rheumatic Mitral Stenosis Using Data-Driven Phenotyping of Longitudinal Hemodynamic Progression. Journal of the American Heart Association 2022. link 96 Enumah ZO, Bolman RM, Zilla P, Boateng P, Wilson B, Kumar AS et al.. United in Earnest: First Pilot Sites for Increased Surgical Capacity for Rheumatic Heart Disease Announced by Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance. The Annals of thoracic surgery 2021. link 97 Anyfanti P, Gkaliagkousi E, Triantafyllou A, Koletsos N, Gavriilaki E, Galanopoulou V et al.. Hypertension in rheumatic diseases: prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates according to current hypertension guidelines. Journal of human hypertension 2021. link 98 Jiang I, Major G, Singh-Grewal D, Teng C, Kelly A, Niddrie F et al.. Patient and parent perspectives on transition from paediatric to adult healthcare in rheumatic diseases: an interview study. BMJ open 2021. link 99 Giancane G, Rosina S, Consolaro A, Ruperto N. Outcome Scores in Pediatric Rheumatology. Current rheumatology reports 2021. link 100 Sattui SE, Liew JW, Kennedy K, Sirotich E, Putman M, Moni TT et al.. Early experience of COVID-19 vaccination in adults with systemic rheumatic diseases: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance Vaccine Survey. RMD open 2021. link