# Rheumatic heart disease Condition · id `cardio:rheumatic-heart-disease` · Cardiovascular Atlas · release `f6f6f1b6f50379ed` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Also called: RHD; Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease Browse, organ or system: Heart Browse, condition area: Valve and congenital heart disease ## In plain language Rheumatic heart disease is lasting damage to the heart valves after rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever can follow a sore throat or skin infection caused by group A streptococcus bacteria. The WHO says rheumatic fever mostly affects children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries and in marginalized communities. The valve damage is permanent, and severe cases often need surgery to repair or replace valves. Treating strep throat with antibiotics prevents rheumatic fever, and after rheumatic fever, antibiotic injections over many years prevent further infections. ## Technical summary WHO fact sheet on rheumatic heart disease (24 January 2025), MeSH D012214. The fact sheet gives WHO estimates of 55 million people affected and about 360 000 deaths each year, and cites no source for them in the text read. It names World Health Assembly resolution WHA 71.14 (2018) and WHO guidelines on the prevention and diagnosis of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (2024); the guideline itself is not recorded here. The fact sheet also describes pregnant women with the disease; that maternal context is not recorded in this atlas record. MedlinePlus lists untreated strep throat that becomes rheumatic fever as a way valves are harmed. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: People at risk of or living with rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, worldwide (WHO fact sheet) Recipient: Mixed recipients; Population: People at risk of rheumatic fever and living with rheumatic heart disease. WHO says rheumatic fever mostly affects children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries and in marginalized communities, including Indigenous populations, and that the disease also remains in immigrants and older adults in high-income countries.; Care setting: Health systems in endemic countries, where WHO describes limited access to diagnosis, antibiotics and valve surgery; Geography: Global; the fact sheet names sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, central and south Asia, the south Pacific, and immigrants and older adults in high-income countries; Life stage: Rheumatic fever mostly affects children and adolescents; rheumatic heart disease is lasting and affects adults too. The fact sheet gives no age range.; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive fact sheet) ### The WHO fact sheet on rheumatic heart disease says the disease remains prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, central and south Asia and the south Pacific, and among immigrants and older adults in high-income countries, especially Indigenous peoples. It says rheumatic fever mostly affects children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries and in marginalized communities. The valve damage is permanent and there is no cure. WHO estimates that the disease affects 55 million people worldwide and claims approximately 360 000 lives each year, the large majority in low- or middle-income countries, and calls it the most commonly acquired heart disease in people under age 25. - Category: Burden - Evidence stage: Evidence stage unknown - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Mixed recipients; Population: People at risk of rheumatic fever and living with rheumatic heart disease. WHO says rheumatic fever mostly affects children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries and in marginalized communities, including Indigenous populations, and that the disease also remains in immigrants and older adults in high-income countries.; Care setting: Health systems in endemic countries, where WHO describes limited access to diagnosis, antibiotics and valve surgery; Geography: Global; the fact sheet names sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, central and south Asia, the south Pacific, and immigrants and older adults in high-income countries; Life stage: Rheumatic fever mostly affects children and adolescents; rheumatic heart disease is lasting and affects adults too. The fact sheet gives no age range.; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive fact sheet) - Limitations: A descriptive fact sheet. The figures are WHO estimates, and the text read cites no source for them. The fact sheet also describes pregnant women with the disease; that maternal context is not part of this claim. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: Rheumatic heart disease (WHO fact sheet) (Webpage, edition Fact sheet page fetched 2026-10-14. The page is dated 24 January 2025.) Locator: Risk factors, paragraphs 1 and 3. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:21:55Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: b20a98a05c89764c1a46b0ca4c3df97c04748c04d25d58891bc6c779c7160704. How it applies: Where the disease is found and whom it affects. 2. Supports: Rheumatic heart disease (WHO fact sheet) (Webpage, edition Fact sheet page fetched 2026-10-14. The page is dated 24 January 2025.) Locator: Key facts, bullets 1 and 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:21:55Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: b20a98a05c89764c1a46b0ca4c3df97c04748c04d25d58891bc6c779c7160704. How it applies: WHO estimates of people affected and lives lost each year, and the age group. 3. Supports: Rheumatic heart disease (WHO fact sheet) (Webpage, edition Fact sheet page fetched 2026-10-14. The page is dated 24 January 2025.) Locator: Treatment, paragraph 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:21:55Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: b20a98a05c89764c1a46b0ca4c3df97c04748c04d25d58891bc6c779c7160704. How it applies: No cure; the valve damage is permanent. ## Connected pages - A cause of valve disease: Heart valve disease (`cardio:heart-valve-disease`) - WHO fact sheet and programme: World Health Organization (`cardio:who`) - Files under this front: Prevention and lifestyle (`cardio:front-prevention-and-lifestyle`) - Related to: MedlinePlus (`core:medlineplus`) - Related to: Rheumatic heart disease burden where prevention and valve surgery are hard to reach (`cardio:bottleneck-rheumatic-heart-disease-burden`) ## Provenance Content hash: f864d53a55b2de566ecd49c5ee1d9d199246b22fe97dc9c81c39183cdcba3664 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14