Abstract
China and India are the 2 fastest growing major world economies. However, they suffer from great differences in health policies, demographics, and rates of population growth. Whereas China has seen a steep decline in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and a rise in life expectancy, India continues to suffer from a significant burden of RHD due to insufficient distribution of economic prosperity to health care, denser population, and ineffective application of World Health Organization RHD prevention guidelines. As China faces the burden of the world's largest geriatric population, focus has shifted to calcific aortic stenosis for which it prepares by expansions in the field of transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Conversely, India has a younger population and a lower average life expectancy. Therefore, focus in India has still not shifted to calcific aortic stenosis as a major cause of morbidity and mortality as RHD continues to constitute the bulk of valvular heart disease.
Highlights
China and India are the 2 fastest growing major world economies
Liu et al [15] conducted a study between January 2009 and December 2013 in 19,428 adults with abnormal valve structures and concluded that the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) steadily declined from 42.8% to 32.8% at the end of the study, the prevalence of degenerative heart disease increased from 8.8% to 14.5%
This reduction of RHD has been attributed to improving living conditions, better housing, and improving socioeconomic status, whereas the increased rate of degenerative valvular heart disease has been attributed to higher longevity
Summary
RHD is caused by group A streptococcus (streptococcus pyogenes), which continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality throughout the world, mostly affecting developing and underdeveloped countries [10,11]. Liu et al [15] conducted a study between January 2009 and December 2013 in 19,428 adults with abnormal valve structures and concluded that the prevalence of RHD steadily declined from 42.8% to 32.8% at the end of the study, the prevalence of degenerative heart disease increased from 8.8% to 14.5%. This reduction of RHD has been attributed to improving living conditions, better housing, and improving socioeconomic status, whereas the increased rate of degenerative valvular heart disease has been attributed to higher longevity. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, the rates of RHD in India dropped from
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