Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), affecting approximately 32 million people all over the world is one of the major causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. In this ongoing pilot study, we aim to investigate the prevalence of both definitive and borderline RHD in Turkey as a developing country.
A total of 386 healthy young individuals (45 female, 341 males) who applied to our Cardiology Clinic for being military personnel coming from different regions of Turkey in the year 2015, were recruited for our study. 2012 World Heart Federation (WHF) criteria for echocardiographic assessment and diagnosis of RHD were used. Study population was classified into one of the three groups as normal, borderline RHD and definitive RHD. The three groups were similar in terms of baseline characteristics and laboratory findings. Definitive and borderline RHD were found in 11 (2,9%) and 29 (7,5%) individuals, respectively. Abnormal thickening of the anterior mitral valve leaflet (AMVL) was found statistically significant between the normal and the RHD groups (3.1±0.6 vs 4.2±0.9, p
Key words: Heart Disease, Acute Rheumatic Fever, and Public Disease Burden
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