Subclinical Rheumatic Heart Disease Research Articles

Detection and management of latent rheumatic heart disease: a narrative review

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a public health concern in many developing nations around the world. Early detection of latent or subclinical RHD can help in reversing mild lesions, retarding disease progression, reducing morbidity and mortality, and improving the quality of life of patients. Echocardiography is the gold-standard method for screening and confirming latent RHD cases. The rates and determinants of progression of latent RHD cases as assessed by echocardiography have been found to be variable through studies. Even though latent RHD has a slow rate of progression, the rate of progression of its subtype, ʻdefiniteʼ RHD, is substantial. A brief training of nonexpert operators on the use of handheld echocardiography with a simplified protocol is an important strategy to scale up the screening program to detect latent cases. Newer advancements in screening, such as deep-learning digital stethoscopes and telehealth services, have provided an opportunity to expand screening programs even in resource-constrained settings. Newer studies have established the efficacy and safety profile of secondary antibiotic prophylaxis in latent RHD. The concerned authorities in endemic regions of the world should work on improving the availability and accessibility of antibiotic prophylaxis.

Seven year follow up of subclinical rheumatic disease using WHF criteria

Abstract Background The prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is higher using echocardiographic screening compared with clinical examination. It is proven that clinical screening underestimates the prevalence, but it still remains the cornerstone for the purpose of intervention. Echocardiography can identify subclinical RHD and can be used for subclinical cases and to see progression /regression on follow up. Follow-up data of children with subclinical lesions are very much needed before implementing large scale screening programs in endemic regions. We are submitting the 7 year follow up data for subclinical RHD who were on RF prophylaxis. Method A total of 3000 school going children were screened echocardiographically during November 2015 to December 2018 for subclinical rheumatic heart disease using WHF criteria. Subjects with subclinical rheumatic heart disease were given prophylaxis for rheumatic fever in form of injection Benzathine penicillin or oral penicillin or tablet erythromycin depending upon tolerance and acceptance. These cases were followed up at 2-year and 7-year for echocardiographic evaluation and compliance to the prophylaxis. Results Out of 3000 cases screened, 114 were found to be having subclinical rheumatic heart disease. 39 subjects turned up for 2-year follow up and 13 subjects turned up for 7-year follow up(Table 1). All 13 were on rheumatic fever prophylaxis. 23% ( 3 out of 13) turned to be with normal echocardiography findings using WHF 2012 criteria. Limitation: Children who were not taking prophylaxis were not evaluated echocardiographically, therefore comparison could not be done. Conclusion Our study shows screening of school going children by echocardiography can detect subclinical rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever prophylaxis in such cases can results in reversion of the lesion and prevention of progression of RHD.

Sub-clinical rheumatic heart disease (RHD) detected by hand-held echocardiogram in children participating in a school-based RHD prevention program in Tanzania

BackgroundRheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) continues to cause suffering and premature deaths in many sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, where the disease is still endemic. RHD is largely preventable and determining its community burden is an important critical step in any RHD prevention program.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 5–16 years old pupils from 11 primary schools participating in an RHD prevention program in 4 districts in Tanzania, between 2018 and 2019. At the school, all children were invited to participate after receiving consent from their parents/guardians. Participating children filled a questionnaire and were auscultated for cardiac murmurs. Echocardiographic screening was done by two experienced cardiologists, using a hand-held machine (V-Scan, GE®). All positive screening tests were stored for further examination by the same two cardiologists to reach to a consensus of definite, borderline or no RHD, using a modified World Heart Federation (WHF) criterion.ResultsOf the 6895 children invited, 4738 (68.7%) were screened and 4436 (64.3%) had complete data. The mean (SD) age was 10.04 (2.43) years, and 2422 (54.6%) were girls. Fifty three (1.2%) children were found to have a murmur. The proportion of children with trace or mild valvular regurgitation, sub-valvular/chordal thickening and valvular thickening/deformity were 8.3%, 1.3%, and 1.0%, respectively. Sub-clinical RHD was found in 95 children (59 definite and 36 borderline), giving a prevalence of 2.1%, [95% CI 1.7% – 2.6%]. Sub-clinical RHD was independently associated with female sex (aOR 1.83, 95% CI 1.18–2.85, p = 0.007), older age groups (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.10–2.72, p = 0.018 for age group 11–14 years; and aOR 3.02 95% CI 1.01–9.05, p = 0.048 for age group 15–16 years), as well as presence of a cardiac murmur, aOR 5.63 95% CI 2.31–13.69, p < 0.0001. None of the studied socio- or economic factors was associated with the presence of sub-clinical RHD in this study.ConclusionThe prevalence of sub-clinical RHD among primary school children in Tanzania is 2.1%, similar to previous reports in SSA. Efforts to prevent and control RHD in our communities are highly warranted.

Saving time saves lives! A time focused evaluation of a single-view echocardiographic screening protocol for subclinical rheumatic heart disease

BackgroundRheumatic heart disease affects 33 million people in low and middle income countries and is the leading cause of cardiovascular death among children and young adults. Evidence increasingly supports that simplified screening protocols can identify at risk children with good accuracy. One of the more proximal and pragmatic hurdles that has not been completely explored is the time required for executing the screening exam. MethodsWe conducted an observational study comparing three different echocardiographic strategies in four separate school-based screening programs in Kenya and Cameroon. ResultsIn a sample of 911 children, we found that a single-view screening strategy can be obtained in an average time of 1.2 min/child, the two-view in an average of 2.1 min/child, and multi-view in an average of 5 min/child. ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that there are significant differences in the time required to execute different screening protocols and is an essential consideration in the feasibility of large scale populations based rheumatic heart disease screening programs.

Prevalence and risk factors for Subclinical Rheumatic Heart Disease among primary school children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a community based cross-sectional study

BackgroundRheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most common acquired heart disease occurring in children and adolescents. RHD is associated with significant morbidity and mortality particularly in low and middle- income countries (LMICs) where the burden is estimated to be higher compared to high income countries. Subclinical RHD is the presence of valvular lesion diagnosed by echocardiography in a person with no clinical manifestation of RHD. This study aimed at determining the prevalence, types and factors associated with subclinical RHD among primary school children in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.MethodsA descriptive community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in primary school children from February to May 2019. A standardized structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic characteristics, history of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), anthropometric measurements, and chest auscultation findings. Moreover echocardiographic screening was done to all children recruited into the study. World Heart Federation echocardiographic classification was used to define the types and prevalence of subclinical RHD.ResultsA total of 949 primary school children were enrolled with females being predominant (57.1%). The prevalence of subclinical RHD was 34 per 1000. All the participants had mitral valve disease only whereby 17 had definite disease and 15 had a borderline disease. The associated factors for subclinical RHD were older age of more than 9 years (OR 10.8, 95% CI 1.4–82.2, P = 0.02) having three or more episodes of URTI in previous six months (OR 21, 95% CI 9.6–46, P = 0.00) and poor hygiene (OR 3, 95% CI 1.3–6.8, P = 0.009).ConclusionSubclinical RHD as detected by echocardiographic screening is prevalent in primary school children, uniformly affects the mitral valve, and is associated with potentially modifiable risk factors. Children with a history of more than three episodes of URTI in six months represents a high-risk population that should be targeted for RHD screening.

Screening for subclinical rheumatic heart disease: addressing borderline disease in a real-world setting.

AimsThe World Heart Federation (WHF) criteria identify a large borderline rheumatic heart disease (RHD) category that has hampered the implementation of population-based screening. Inter-scallop separations (ISS) of the posterior mitral valve leaflet, a recently described normal variant of the mitral valve, appears to be an important cause of mild mitral regurgitation (MR) leading to misclassification of cases as WHF ‘borderline RHD’. This study aims to report the findings of the Echo in Africa project, a large-scale RHD screening project in South Africa and determine what proportion of borderline cases would be re-classified as normal if there were a systematic identification of ISS-related MR.Methods and resultsA prospective cross-sectional study of underserved secondary schools in the Western Cape was conducted. Participants underwent a screening study with a handheld (HH) ultrasound device. Children with an abnormal HH study were re-evaluated with a portable laptop echocardiography machine. A mechanistic evaluation was applied in cases with isolated WHF ‘pathological’ MR (WHF ‘borderline RHD’). A total of 5255 participants (mean age 15± years) were screened. A total of 3439 (65.8%) were female. Forty-nine cases of WHF ‘definite RHD’ [9.1 cases/1000 (95% confidence interval, CI, 6.8–12.1 cases/1000)] and 104 cases of WHF ‘borderline RHD’ [19.5 cases/1000 (95% CI, 16.0–23.7 cases/1000)] were identified. Inter-scallop separations-related MR was the underlying mechanism of MR in 48/68 cases classified as WHF ‘borderline RHD’ with isolated WHF ‘pathological’ MR (70.5%).ConclusionIn a real-world, large-scale screening project, the adoption of a mechanistic evaluation based on the systematic identification of ISS-related MR markedly reduced the number of WHF ‘screen-positive’ cases misclassified as WHF ‘borderline RHD’. Implementing strategies that reduce this misclassification could reduce the cost- and labour burden on large-scale RHD screening programmes.

Abstract 10180: Clinical and Subclinical Rheumatic Heart Disease Among Adults in the Amazon Basin: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in middle- and low-income countries. However, the prevalence of RHD is often underestimated in resource limited areas due to lack of proper screening programs. Purpose: We aimed to determine the prevalence of clinical and subclinical RHD among adults in the Northwestern part of the Amazon Basin, Brazil. In addition, we evaluated the diagnostic yield of a history of self-reported rheumatic fever (RF) and cardiac auscultation Methods: We included a probability sample of adults from the general population in the Amazon Basin. Participants underwent questionnaire on medical history, cardiac auscultation and echocardiography. Participants were assessed according to the 2012 World Heart Federation (WHF) Criteria for echocardiographic diagnosis of RHD (Figure A) Results: We included a total of 591 participants (mean age 41+/-15 years, 60% women, 5% &lt;20 years old). 3% (n=19) had definite RHD (age 50 [IQR 29-70] years, 53% women) and &lt;1% (n=2) had borderline RHD. The distribution of definite RHD according to the WHF Criteria 2012 was: A (n=8), B (n=3), C (n=0), D (n=8). Valve pathologies are displayed in Figure B. Among definite RHD cases, 16% (n=3) were considered clinical (prevalence ~1%) and 84% (n=16) were subclinical (prevalence ~3%). A self-reported history of RF had a sensitivity of 3% and a specificity of 92% (PPV 2%/ NPV 95%) to detect RHD, whereas cardiac auscultation had a sensitivity of 38% and a specificity of 80% (PPV 5%/ NPV 97%). When combining a self-reported history of RF with cardiac auscultation, this yielded a sensitivity of 3% and a specificity of 98% (PPV 10%/ NPV 96%) Conclusions: By applying the 2012 WHF Criteria, the prevalence of clinical and subclinical RHD in adults from the Northwestern part of the Amazon Basin was 1% and 3%, respectively. A combination of a self-reported history of RF and cardiac auscultation provided low sensitivity but high specificity for RHD.

Community-based prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in rural Ethiopia: Five-year follow-up

As little is known about the prevalence and clinical progression of subclinical (latent) rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in sub-Saharan Africa, we report the results of a 5 year follow-up of a community based, echocardiographic study of the disease, originally carried out in a rural area around Jimma, Ethiopia. Individuals with evidence of RHD detected during the baseline study as well as controls and their family members were screened with a short questionnaire together with transthoracic echocardiography. Of 56 individuals with RHD (37 definite and 19 borderline) in the original study, 36 (26 definite and 10 borderline) were successfully located 57.3 (range 44.9-70.7) months later. At follow-up two thirds of the definite cases still had definite disease; while a third had regressed. Approximately equal numbers of the borderline cases had progressed and regressed. Features of RHD had appeared in 5 of the 60 controls. There was an increased risk of RHD in the family relatives of borderline and definite cases (3.8 and 4.0 times respectively), notably among siblings. Compliance with penicillin prophylaxis was very poor. We show the persistence of echocardiographically demonstrable RHD in a rural sub-Saharan population. Both progression and regression of the disease were found; however, the majority of the individuals who had definite features of RHD had evidence of continuing RHD lesions five years later. There was an increased risk of RHD in the family relatives of borderline and definite cases, notably among siblings. The findings highlight the problems faced in addressing the problem of RHD in the rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. They add to the evidence that community-based interventions for RHD will be required, together with appropriate ways of identifying active disease, achieving adequate penicillin prophylaxis and developing vaccines for primary prevention.

Early diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease as part of a secondary prevention strategy: Narrative review.

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and its sequela rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remain significant causes of morbidity and mortality. In New Zealand, ARF almost exclusively affects Indigenous Māori and Pacific children. This narrative review aims to present secondary interventions to improve early and accurate diagnosis of ARF and RHD, in order to minimise disease progression in New Zealand. Medline, EMBASE and Scopus databases were searched as well as other electronic publications. Included were 56 publications from 1980 onwards. Diagnosing ARF and RHD as early as possible is central to reducing disease progression. Recent identification of specific ARF biomarkers offer the opportunity to aid initial diagnosis and portable echocardiography has the potential to detect undiagnosed RHD in high-risk areas. However, further research into the benefits and risks to children with subclinical RHD is necessary, as well as an economic evaluation.

Prevalence and follow-up of subclinical rheumatic heart disease among asymptomatic school children in a north-western district of India based on the World Heart Federation echocardiographic criteria.

The present study is based on the World Heart Federation (WHF) echocardiographic criteria to assess the prevalence of subclinical rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and elucidate evolution of the disease when the cases were placed on appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis and regular follow-up. The prevalence of subclinical RHD reported by previous active surveillance studies among asymptomatic school children is not comparable to our study because of major differences in screening methods. A random inclusion strategy was adopted to recruit urban and rural school children of Bikaner district in the state of Rajasthan, India. The diagnosis of RHD was based on the echocardiographic criteria proposed by the WHF. All studies were reported on-site by a single experienced cardiologist and the digitally preserved studies were reported by a second cardiologist off-site. The final diagnosis was made by consensus. The second echocardiogram was performed for cases diagnosed with RHD after two years from start of study to document early evolution of the disease with ongoing antibiotic prophylaxis. A high prevalence of subclinical RHD was observed in the study population. Pathological mitral and/or aortic valve regurgitation was the commonest lesion, and a significant proportion of cases improved while on regular antibiotic prophylaxis. No case showed fixity of leaflets/ stenosis. The prevalence of subclinical RHD is high in the study population, and the disease seems to regress over time in the presence of appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis.

Mid-term outcome of children with latent rheumatic heart disease in eastern Nepal

IntroductionSystematic echocardiographic screening of children in regions with an endemic pattern of rheumatic heart disease allows for the early detection of valvular lesions suggestive of subclinical rheumatic heart disease. The...

Rheumatic heart disease: Is it reversible?

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) continues to be responsible for the loss of millions of young productive lives worldwide, with a disproportionate burden being borne by the underdeveloped and economically disadvantaged strata of society. There is an urgent need to develop approaches to identify RHD in its early stages and reverse it before it can cause significant valvular damage. This is especially relevant for the developing world where advanced cardiac surgery is inaccessible to many. Research over the last decade has made it possible to diagnose subclinical or latent RHD through systematic echocardiographic screening using standardized criteria, which can pick up early disease better compared to clinical screening alone. Furthermore, initial studies show promise that timely institution of penicillin prophylaxis can lead to regression of such latent disease. This brief review summarizes the current state of the field in this regard and outlines some of the challenges in translating this concept from benchside to public health policy.

Epidemiologic profiles of subclinical rheumatic heart disease in children

Background Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) causes premature deaths every year worldwide. Low socioeconomic level is considered to be a risk factor facilitating the transmission of airway infections due to Streptococcus pyogenes. Subclinical RHD is a stage of RHD in which heart valve abnormalities have occurred according to the WHO or WHF classification but without any complaints to the subject. Echocardiography is used to screen subclinical RHD in several countries.&#x0D; Objective To estimate the prevalence, risk factors, and echocardiographic features of subclinical RHD in children.&#x0D; Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 250 elementary school children in Palembang, South Sumatera. We interviewed subject's parents about family characteristics, environment, and history of recurrent sore throat. Subjects underwent anthropometric examination, auscultation, and echocardiography. Diagnosis of RHD was based on World Health Organization (WHO) and World Heart Federation (WHF) criteria.&#x0D; Results Of 250 subjects, 132 (53.8%) were girls. Subjects’ age range was 5-14 years. The prevalence of subclinical RHD was 8% (95%CI 4.8 to 11.6). Of the 20 subclinical RHD subjects, 15 (75%) met the possible RHD criteria, 5 (25%) met the probable RHD criteria, and none met the definite RHD criteria. Multivariate analysis showed that household crowding (OR 8.135; 95%CI 1.048 TO 63.143; P=0.045), history of recurrent sore throat within the previous 6 months (OR 6,476; 95%CI 1.79 to 23.427; P=0.004) and age &gt; 10 years (OR 3.167, 95%CI 1.184 to 8.471; P=0.022) significantly increased the risk of subclinical RHD.&#x0D; Conclusion The prevalence of subclinical RHD in elementary school children in Palembang was 8%. For echocardiographic features, most cases met the WHO/WHF possible RHD criteria. Factors significantly associated with the incidence of subclinical RHD are age &gt; 10 years, household crowding, and history of recurrent sore throat in the previous 6 months.

Standard echocardiography versus handheld echocardiography for the detection of subclinical rheumatic heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy

ObjectiveTo summarise the accuracy of handheld echocardiography (HAND) which, if shown to be sufficiently similar to that of standard echocardiography (STAND), could usher in a new age of rheumatic heart...

Prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in North-Central Nigeria: a school-based cross-sectional pilot study.

To present epidemiological data on rheumatic heart disease (RHD), the most common acquired heart disease in children and young adults in low- and middle-income countries, for North-Central Nigeria. In this pilot study, we conducted clinical and echocardiography screening on a cross section of randomly selected secondary schoolchildren in Jos, North-Central Nigeria, from March to September 2016. For outcome classification into borderline or definite RHD, we performed a confirmatory echocardiography using the World Heart Federation criteria for those suspected to have RHD from the screening. A total of 417 secondary schoolchildren were screened, of whom 247 (59.2%) were female. The median age was 14years (IQR: 13-15). Clinical screening detected 8/417 children, whereas screening echocardiography detected 42/417 suspected cases of RHD. Definitive echocardiography confirmed 9/417 with RHD corresponding to a prevalence of 21.6 per 1000 (95% CI, 6.7-36.5). All but one of the confirmed RHD cases (8/9) were borderline RHD corresponding to a prevalence of 19.2 per 1000 (95% CI, 8.3-37.5) for borderline RHD and 2.4 per 1000 (95% CI, 0.1-13.3) for definite RHD. RHD was more common in boys and cardiac auscultation missed over 50% of the cases. This study showed a high prevalence of RHD among secondary schoolchildren in North-Central Nigeria with a vast predominance of asymptomatic borderline lesions. Larger school-based echocardiography screening using portable or handheld echocardiography aimed at early detection of subclinical RHD should be adopted.

Rheumatic heart disease anno 2020: Impacts of gender and migration on epidemiology and management.

BackgroundThe epidemiology and management of diseases can be influenced by social demographic factors. Gender and migration are among these factors.MethodsWe aimed at reviewing the impacts of gender and migration on rheumatic heart disease (RHD) epidemiology and management by a nonsystematic literature review of published studies on RHD worldwide. Our PubMed search terms included RHD pathophysiology, diagnosis, complications, management or prevention, combined with words ‘rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS)’, ‘outcomes after percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV)’, ‘gender or sex difference’ and ‘migration’. The reporting of this study conforms to SANRA (the Scale for Assessment of Narrative Review Articles) guidelines.ResultsWe retrieved eight studies about the impact of sex on outcomes after PBMV. All of these studies showed a female predominance for RHD. Two studies showed that there is no impact, three studies showed female sex as a predictor of poor outcomes, and the other three showed male sex a predictor of poor outcomes. Although RHD is reported to be eradicated in the developed countries, 2.1% of refugees recently screened for RHD in Italy were found to have subclinical RHD. This prevalence is similar to those found in India (2.0%), Cambodia (2.2%) and Mozambique (3%).ConclusionsThere are contradicting results for outcomes after PBMV between males and females. It is not clear whether sex difference plays a role in pathophysiology, diagnosis, management and prognosis of MS. Migration has impacts on epidemiology and management of RHD. Further studies are required in these two fields to explore their relationship to RHD.

Validation of a simplified score for predicting latent rheumatic heart disease progression using a prospective cohort of Brazilian schoolchildren

ObjectivesEchocardiographic (echo) screening is an important tool to estimate rheumatic heart disease (RHD) prevalence, but the natural history of screen-detected RHD remains unclear. The PROVAR+ (Programa de RastreamentO da VAlvopatia...

Prevalence, Clinical Features and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Group A Streptococcal Skin Infections in School Children in Urban Western and Northern Uganda.

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) skin infections can lead to invasive sepsis, poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, and potentially rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Within a study to identify predisposing factors of RHD in Ugandan schoolchildren, we determined the prevalence of skin infections and assessed the clinical features and antibiotic susceptibility of GAS skin infection. Cross-sectional study conducted at 3 urban primary schools in Western and Northern Uganda in March 2017. A dermatologist rendered clinical diagnoses and obtained a skin swab specimen from lesions with signs of bacterial infection. Beta-hemolytic colonies underwent Lancefield grouping, species identification by polymerase chain reaction and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. From 3265 schoolchildren, we observed 32% with ≥1 fungal, 1.8% with ≥1 bacterial, 0.9% with ≥1 viral, and 0.2% with ≥1 ectoparasitic infection. Of 79, 25 (32%) specimens were GAS-positive, of which one-third demonstrated tetracycline resistance. Of 17 impetigo cases, 13 (76%) were located on the leg/foot and 3 (18%) on the head/neck. Prevalence of GAS skin infection was 0.8% (25 of 3265). In Northern Uganda, where subclinical definite RHD prevalence is 1.1%, GAS skin infection prevalence was 1.2% (4 of 343) and 0.9% (3 of 352). This study identifies tetracycline-resistant GAS in Ugandan communities, suggests modified skin examination of exposed anatomic locations may be appropriate for population-based GAS skin infection studies, and underscores need for clear case definitions of GAS skin infection. Future studies are needed to evaluate the role of GAS skin infection in development of RHD in Ugandan communities.

Comparison of the newer proposed diagnostic score with the World Heart Federation criteria for echocardiographic detection of rheumatic heart disease.

Echocardiography has been found to be a much better screening tool compared to clinical examination for the detection of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in asymptomatic school children living in the RHD endemic areas. Recently, World Heart Federation (WHF) published echocardiographic criteria for the diagnosis of RHD. The present study was done to compare the performance of the newer proposed, quantitative diagnostic score against the qualitative WHF criteria in a field survey of asymptomatic school children belonging to the district having high prevalence of RHD. 3000 asymptomatic school children studying in rural and urban schools of Bikaner district were screened both by clinical examination and echocardiography performed in parallel. The WHF criteria and the proposed diagnostic score were applied simultaneously for the diagnosis of RHD. A high prevalence of subclinical RHD was found. There was complete agreement between the two sets of criteria for the diagnosis of RHD. However, there was discrepancy in grading the severity of disease. The diagnostic score proved superior to the WHF criteria in grading the disease severity accurately. Diagnostic score captures the disease spectrum of RHD better than WHF criteria and reduces the subjectivity in the diagnosis of RHD.

P3131Evolution of subclinical rheumatic heart disease: a multi-centre retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background Screening echocardiography (echo) detects subclinical rheumatic heart disease (RHD) which is categorised as definite or borderline. The natural history of subclinical RHD is not known. Follow up single centre studies have included a relatively small number of participants, and have shown variable progression rates. Aim To determine incidence of and factors associated with progression and regression among a cohort of children with baseline subclinical RHD across multiple countries and regions. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of RHD evolution in children with subclinical RHD. Study sites were Australia, Fiji, Malawi, New Zealand, and Uganda. Progression or regression was determined from echos obtained at baseline and most recent follow-up. Factors associated with echo progression or regression were identified using multivariable logistic regression. Results 482 participants (131 with definite, 351 with borderline subclinical RHD) from 5 countries were included (mean age 11.5 years, range 5–19 years). Mean follow up was 3.4 yrs (range 0.4–9.5 yrs). Of 482 participating children, 204 (42%) regressed. Among 131 children with definite lesions, 48 (37%) regressed to borderline or normal, and 83 (63%) remained definite. Among 351 children with borderline lesions, 39 (11.1%) progressed, 156 (44.4%) remained borderline, and 156 (44.4%) regressed to normal. World Heart Federation defines subcategories based on characteristics of affected valves. By subcategory, children with definite C (pathological aortic regurgitation and 2 morphologic characteristics of the aortic valve) and borderline A (at least 2 morphologic features of the mitral valve without pathologic mitral regurgitation or stenosis) were less likely to regress, and borderline A was more likely to progress. In univariable analysis, good adherence (&gt;80%) to penicillin prophylaxis (BPG) was associated with more regression among all patients (definite + borderline) (OR 1.9, CI 1, 3.5; p=0.04) but this association did not remain significant after adjustment. With multivariable analysis, borderlines prescribed BPG was the only factor related to progression from borderline to definite (OR 4.1, CI 1.8, 9.3, p&lt;0.01). Conclusion This is the largest reported subclinical RHD cohort followed to report outcomes. 42% of definite RHD regressed with subtype C more likely to regress. 11% of borderline RHD progressed. Borderline A was more likely to progress and less likely to regress. We have also identified that being prescribed BPG is associated with borderline progression. This is likely because children with more advanced borderline disease may be more likely to be prescribed BPG. This study highlights that RHD evolution is variable out to 3–4 years post echo detection. While borderline disease is likely, in some cases, to reflect the earliest change of RHD, how this should be monitored and whether it should be treated with BPG should be a priority for future prospective evaluation.