The American Heart Association (AHA) www.heart.org awarded a grant for $3.7 million to Children’s National Health System https://childrensnational.org based in Washington D.C., to launch a Rheumatic Heart Disease Center.
The goal is to work towards developing strategies to improve the prevention and diagnosis of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in high risk financially disadvantaged countries and low income communities across the U.S.
Known as the world’s forgotten disease, RHD is caused by untreated streptococcal throat infections that progress into Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) and eventually weaken the valves of the heart. It is the most common cardiovascular disease in children and young adults globally but yet it is preventable with early detection and access to penicillin.
AHA selected Children’s National for funding based on the system’s record to collaborate globally to solve complex health issues and the potential important impact that may result from this research.
The program will use Children’s telemedicine infrastructure to connect co-collaborators around the world as well as use telemedicine technology to train the next generation of globally minded cardiovascular researchers.
Craig Sable MD, Associate Division Chief of Cardiology at Children’s National Heart Institute, reports, “The disease is epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa and in some poverty stricken communities in in the U.S.”
Dr. Sable along with RHD leaders worldwide will develop evidence-based strategies to strengthen the health system’s response to RHD by conducting synergistic basic, clinical, and population science research along the entire spectrum of the disease.
In addition, population research led by David Watkins M.D., at the University of Washington in Seattle, will enable researchers to build an economic case for prevention around the world using data available from their basic and clinical work.