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. 2000 Jun;83(6):721–725. doi: 10.1136/heart.83.6.721

Worldwide perspective of valve disease

J Soler-Soler 1, E Galve 1
PMCID: PMC1760854  PMID: 10814642

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Figure 1:  .

Figure 1:  

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Changes in the incidence of rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever increased during the period of the industrial revolution, possibly because of overcrowding in urban areas. Later on, it reached a steady state as living standards began to improve. Finally, in the postindustrial period, the decline in incidence was associated with an easier access to medical care, widespread use of antibiotics, and reduced overcrowding. At the present time, when the disease is considered to be nearly eradicated, isolated outbreaks continue to occur.

Figure 2:  .

Figure 2:  

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Evolution of different types of valve disease in the developed world. Rheumatic valve disease has witnessed an abrupt decline, which has been matched in part by an increase in degenerative valve disease, related to aging. Meanwhile, new types of valve disease have emerged, although they account for a minority of all cases in comparison with the old incidence of rheumatic valve disease or the current incidence of degenerative valve disease.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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