Rheumatic heart disease occurrence, patterns and clinical correlates in children aged less than five years.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Rheumatic fever (RF) and chronic rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are common in developing countries. Two-thirds of RHD patients are school-children aged between 5 and 15 years. Pre-schoolers aged <5 years are not immune to RF however, and to date RHD patterns in this very young age group have not been studied systematically. METHODS: Records of all RHD patients seen at the authors' institution between January 1999 and December 2000 were retrospectively reviewed. A special analysis was conducted among pre-school children aged <5 years. RESULTS: Thirty-eight (6.8%) of the RF/RHD admissions were aged <5 years, and 28 of these patients (20 males, 8 females) presented with acute RF. The mean age of acute RF diagnosis was 4 years. All RF/RHD patients aged <5 years were in normal sinus rhythm. Joint pain and swelling (25 cases; characteristic migratory polyarthritis in six, monoarthritis in five) and fever (24 cases) were the most frequent symptoms. Arthritis, carditis and chorea occurred in 75%, 50% and 4% respectively, with no instances of erythema marginatum or subcutaneous nodules. Effort intolerance, chest discomfort and palpitations were reported by nine, five and three cases, respectively. Mitral regurgitation was the most common valvular lesion in RF. The youngest case of confirmed acute RF was an 18-month-old male. The only patient with mitral stenosis in the present series was a 4-year-old girl. None of the patients required surgical intervention, and there were no deaths. CONCLUSION: RHD is common in very young age groups of <5 years. Pre-schoolers account for a significant proportion of acute RF and chronic RHD admissions among children. Mitral regurgitation is the most common cardiac manifestation, but obstructive valve disease is distinctly rare in this age group. Aortic regurgitation, left ventricular dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension may complicate the course of RF in these very young children.

Estimation of subjective stress in acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mental stress is considered to be a precipitating factor in acute coronary events. We aimed to assess the association of subjective or 'perceived' mental stress with the occurrence of acute coronary events. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Prospective case-control survey was carried out in a referral teaching hospital. SUBJECTS & METHODS: Consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction and ST elevation on electrocardiogram who were admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of a referral teaching hospital were enrolled in the study as cases. Controls were unmatched and were enrolled from amongst patients with coronary artery disease who did not have recent acute coronary events. Subjective Stress Functional Classification (SS-FC) for the preceding 2-4 weeks was assessed and assigned four grades from I to IV as follows: I - baseline, II - more than usual but not affecting daily routine, III - significantly high stress affecting daily routine and IV - worst stress in life. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Proportions of different characteristics were compared using chi-square test with Yates continuity correction. Student's unpaired t test was applied for mean age. 'p' value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: SS-FC could be reliably (99%) and easily assessed. Eighty (53%) of the total 150 patients with acute MI reported 'high' levels of stress (stress class III and IV). This is in contrast to only 30 (20%) of 150 healthy controls reporting high stress for the same period (p value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with acute myocardial infarction report a higher subjective mental stress during 2 to 4 weeks preceding the acute coronary event.