Mission Statement:
Working in partnership with
the Rwandan Ministry of Health, and the Rwanda Heart Foundation, and global
partners, TeamHeart will address the burden of cardiac disease:
To address the suffering of
adolescents and young adults afflicted with advanced rheumatic and congenital heart disease in
Rwanda with surgical intervention to return to a productive and fulfilling life.
To work with the medical and
nursing staff in Rwanda to establish a sustainable regional center of
excellence in cardiac care for children and adults.
To prevent advanced
rheumatic heart disease through a combined effort of surveillance, prevention,
education and early intervention as an example of effective countrywide
intervention against rheumatic heart disease that can inspire a scalable
model in sub-Saharan Africa.
Program Components:
1. Cardiac Surgery: Now in
our eighth year, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General
Hospital (BWH/MGH) based TeamHeart (TH) will continue to work with the Ministry
of Health, and local medical personnel to establish a sustainable independent
cardiac surgery center in Rwanda to address the surgical burden of all types cardiac disease requiring surgical intervention.
2. Rheumatic and Congenital Heart
Disease Registries: Working together with the Ministry of Health, the Rwandan
Heart Foundation, TH will identify register and implement a care-delivery system
for those patients requiring surgical care. Those with milder forms of rheumatic heart disease who need secondary prophylaxis, will be followed with a goal to prevent the progression of disease. Patients
with CHD and RHD awaiting surgical intervention will be placed on national
waiting list to facilitate referral for care.
3. Management of Cardiac
Disease: To prevent rheumatic fever (RF), and thereby progression to rheumatic
heart disease (RHD), a collaborative project will improve management of all
aspects of streptococcal infections in a region that has been identified with a presumed high rate of disease. Identification, early intervention, prevention and
post operative follow up will be the focus of the first outreach clinics in the country
devoted to cardiac disease.
