Echocardiographic changes and growth retardation in a group of Egyptian children with rheumatic heart disease.

Background: Advances in echocardiographic studies have identified a massive burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) which continues to be a major health hazard in most developing countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between cardiac affection as regards the presence of single or multiple valvular lesions, and their severity and the growth parameters in a group of Egyptian children with RHD.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study, that was conducted on 200 children with RHD and 400 age-matched healthy.