June 14, 2023
“Healthy Skin, Healthy Heart” clinics have been held at Cherbourg and Murgon this week, creating awareness around the connection between skin and heart health.
A Darling Downs Health spokesperson said that in March, more than 700 South Burnett residents took part in the first part of the program to improve their skin health, and in turn, their overall health and well-being.
The clinics this week continued this work by educating the community about the potential for skin infections to cause acute rheumatic fever which can lead to rheumatic heart disease.
Healthcare workers from the Darling Downs Public Health Unit and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health team, along with health professionals from Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, and Toowoomba conducted skin checks and screening for rheumatic heart disease.
“Rheumatic heart disease is a serious disease, but the good news is that it is preventable,” Darling Downs Public Health physician Dr Priya Janagaraj said.
“This serious condition disproportionally affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with about 3-5 per cent of Aboriginal people living in remote and rural areas with the disease.”
A simple course of antibiotics can treat Group A Streptococcus infection in the skin or throat but if these infections remain untreated, they can lead to acute rheumatic fever, which causes an inflammatory response in the body. Over time, recurrent episodes can damage the valves in the heart causing a permanent condition.
“There is a direct correlation between having healthy skin and a healthy heart,” Dr Janagaraj said.
“Preventing Strep A infections in the skin or throat and treating it early with antibiotics is key to eliminating RHD.”
Heart screens were conducted in Cherbourg and Murgon for people aged between five and 20.
“This early screening will help to identify young people with rheumatic heart disease and provide an opportunity to stop the progression of heart damage,” Dr Janagaraj said.
