Trends in Rheumatic Heart Disease-Related Mortality in the United States from 1999 to 2020.

There is a lack of mortality data on rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the United States (US). In light of this, a retrospective analysis was conducted to investigate the temporal, sex-based, racial, and regional trends in RHD-related mortality in the US, ranging from 1999 to 2020. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC-WONDER) dataset was analyzed, where crude and age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) were identified, along with annual percentage changes (APCs) determined by Joinpoint regression. Through the period of 1999 to 2020, there were 141,137 RHD-related deaths reported, with a marginal decline from 4.05/100,000 in 1999 to 3.12/100,000 in 2020. However, the recent rise in AAMR from 2017 to 2020 has created a source of concern (APC: 6.62 [95% CI, 3.19-8.72]). Similar trends were observed in the Black or African American race from 2017 to 2020 (APC: 10.58 [95% CI, 6.29-17.80]). Moreover, the highest percentage change from 2018 to 2020 was observed in residents of large metropolitan areas (APC: 7.6 [95% CI, 2.8-10.5]). A prominent disparity was observed among states, with values ranging from 1.74/100,000 in Louisiana to 5.27/100,000 in Vermont. States within the top 90th percentile of RHD-related deaths included Alaska, Minnesota, Washington, Wyoming, and Vermont. In conclusion, it is imperative to delve deeper into the evidently rising trends of RHD-related mortality and outline the possible sources of social determinants within US healthcare in order to provide equal and quality medical care throughout the nation.