To elucidate the hypothesis of ongoing inflammation in children with chronic rheumatic heart disease, and its possible consequences.

This study was conducted on 36 patients with a mean age of 12.63 years: six with acute rheumatic carditis, and 30 with chronic rheumatic heart disease. There were 15 age- and sex-matched children who served as a control group. All subjects underwent echocardiographic assessment of valvular involvement and left ventricular function. Laboratory investigations comprised lipid profile, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and homocysteine assay.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein was significantly elevated in patients with acute rheumatic carditis and in patients with chronic rheumatic heart disease (mean and standard deviation of 78.33, 156 micrograms per millilitre and 78.33, 23.17 micrograms per millilitre, respectively) as compared to the control group (mean and standard deviation of 5.83 and 2.79 micrograms per millilitre). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein correlated with the grade of mitral regurgitation (p less than 0.05). Homocysteine was significantly elevated in patients with acute carditis and patients with rheumatic heart disease as compared to the control group (their mean and standard deviation were 2.96, 0.476 nanograms per decilitre, 2.99, 1.48 nanograms per decilitre, and 1.717, 0.733 nanograms per decilitre, respectively), but did not show significant difference between the two studied groups of patients. Neither C-reactive protein nor homocysteine correlated with any of the studied parameters of lipid profile.

There is evidence of ongoing inflammation in children with rheumatic heart disease, which correlates with the degree of valvular involvement. This ongoing inflammation may put those children at risk for premature atherosclerosis.