Overview

The reason for the high incidence of various heart diseases in young patients in Iraq is not fully known, but poor hygienic conditions, overcrowding, bad housing, inadequate medical treatment and prophylaxis, and malnutrition may all contribute.

Congenital Heart Disease

Thousands of children suffer the effects of heart diseases that begin while the child is still in utero. In a country like Iraq, these are some of the hardest diseases to understand because the contributing factors are not always identifiable or understood until it is far too late. Though it remains a topic of great speculation, experts have hypothesized that Saddam Hussein’s 281 chemical attacks on the Kurds of Northern Iraq are a contributing factor to congenital heart disease in many today. In rural areas where rice, dates, & breads are the primary dietary staple, malnutrition is cited as another contributing factor. Intra-family marriage is still practiced by many today and probably also contributes to the prevalence of these diseases.

Rheumatic Heart Disease

As many as 50% of the cases of CVD in Iraq are rheumatic heart disease. Rheumatic heart disease is the effect of rheumatic fever in which heart tissue becomes scarred so that valves fail to function properly, thereby diminishing the heart’s ability to provide the body with oxygen. Rheumatic fever is caused by Group A Streptococcus (GAS). In developed countries most GAS infections are relatively mild illnesses such as “strep throat,” as it is a highly containable bacteria wherever there is widespread availability and knowledgeable usage of antibiotics. In developing countries, however, limited availability of antibiotics and ignorance as to proper usage make Group A Streptococcus (GAS) deadly.

Our Efforts

In conjunction with Kurdistan Save the Children and other non-governmental organizations in the region Buy Shoes. Save Lives. is seeking not only to address the individual cases of heart disease, but to change the systemic factors that makes the heart diseases themselves so ubiquitous.

Thus, while working tirelessly to sell shoes, thereby improving the economic condition of some and funding individual heart surgeries for others, we are also establishing a non-profit foundation through which we can offer education in the proper usage of antibiotics in rural areas; bring cardiovascular surgeons to Iraq to train local medical professionals; and contribute to the establishment of quality local medical facilities for children.

Summary

A better standard of living, housing, education, and improved medical services will almost certainly lead to a fall in the incidence of rheumatic heart disease as a whole, and in the young in particular in Iraq. As for congenital diseases, too little is known right now to say anything definitive, but social issues ranging from the way marriages are arranged to the war crimes suffered by the people of Iraq play a significant role.

Sources

Kurdistan Save the Children
http://www.ksc-kcf.com