Brigham and Women's Hospital Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a major cause of cardiovascular disease in Africa, even as acute rheumatic fever and RHD have become rare in high-income countries. In a new study led by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the team modeled the investment case for control of RHD in the African Union (AU) region. Results showed the potential to reduce RHD death by almost a third by increasing coverage of RHD interventions in regions of the AU to 2030, with a high return on investment in both the long and short term. Their results are published in The Lancet Global Health.