By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 12: A new study published in the Indian Heart Journal has revealed a troubling finding—nearly five in every thousand schoolchildren in Meghalaya may be silently living with rheumatic heart disease (RHD), a preventable but potentially fatal condition that often shows no symptoms until it causes permanent heart damage.
According to reports, the study, led by Dr. Manish Kapoor of the Department of Cardiology at NEIGRIHMS and supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is the first large-scale echocardiographic screening of its kind in the state. Researchers screened 4,039 children aged 5 to 15 years from nine districts using portable ultrasound machines to detect early signs of the disease.
Findings showed that while only two children had visible symptoms of RHD (0.49 per 1,000), 19 others were found with subclinical forms of the disease, taking the total prevalence to 4.7 per 1,000. The study reported that “subclinical RHD prevalence in Meghalaya’s children is significantly higher than clinical RHD”, signalling a hidden public health risk.
Further, the analysis found that older children, girls and those studying in government schools or living in rural areas were more likely to be affected. The prevalence was highest among females (6.29 per 1,000), followed by rural students (5.23 per 1,000) and government school children (7.68 per 1,000).
India accounts for nearly 40% of all global RHD cases—earning it the grim label of the world’s RHD capital. Though the disease has largely disappeared in industrialised nations, it continues to threaten children in lower-income regions due to untreated streptococcal infections.
Researchers have, meanwhile, called for systematic echocardiographic screening and long-term monitoring through a national registry. The study noted that early detection and preventive treatment could curb the disease burden.
“We feel the need for an active echo surveillance program, preferably under a national registry… to better understand the long-term epidemiology and progression pattern of subclinical RHD,” the authors recommended.
