“Healing hearts” Rheumatic Heart Disease

in the perinatal period

About the Webinar

Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is twice as common in women starting as a child or adolescent. The first clinical signs are most common among children between 5 to 14 years in our communities. A consequence of untreated Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) is the progression to heart valve damage, which is associated with significant cardiac and perinatal morbidity. Preconception planning, counselling and RHD screening are the key to best outcomes for our girls and women embracing pregnancy.

There are other priority areas that are associated with RHD that focus on prevention for Aboriginal families across NSW.  Targeting primary prevention and addressing the specific social determinants of health, is the key to eradicating this disease in our Aboriginal communities.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Define Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD).
• Discuss the importance of screening and management of RHD during pregnancy.
• Explain the requirement of notifications of RHD to the Public Health Unit.
• Identify the social determinants of health specific to ARF and RHD.