Rheumatic Heart Disease in an Urban Adult Patient Population - Overseas Migrants the Largest Patient Group

Abstract

Aim: Current registry data suggest a low prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in metropolitan South East Queensland (SE Qld). We aim to identify patients with RHD, as determined by echocardiography in an urban public adult hospital or clinic setting. Method: RHD patients were identified by retrospectively searching the MetroSouth health services (SE Qld) echocardiography data management system from the period 2007–2018 for the key word ‘rheumatic’. Patients were grouped according to Indigenous status and country of birth. Results: 538 patients with RHD were identified. RHD patients were more likely to be female (68% vs 32%). There were 55 (10%) Indigenous Australian patients with a mean age of 46 yrs (range 15–74). There were 211 (39%) Australian-born Non-Indigenous patients with a mean age of 65 yrs (range 15–92). There were 272 (51%) overseas-born RHD patients. The NZ and Pacific Islander patients group had 102 patients (19% total RHD patients) and mean age 52 yrs (range 18–85). Asian and European regions each comprised 13% (n = 68) and 12% (n = 65) of total patients, with Asian-born patients younger on average (mean 56 yrs) than European-born (mean 72 yrs). Conclusion: RHD in the SE Qld urban adult public healthcare setting is not an infrequent finding. The majority of RHD patients identified were overseas migrants with the largest group from New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. In regions with relatively high overseas migrant populations from the Pacific and Asian regions, rates of RHD may increase.