An ambitious plan to eradicate rheumatic heart disease (RHD) will be endorsed by public health experts in Perth today.
The "Perth Declaration" says the world already knows how to prevent and treat the disease, but what's needed is political will.
Australia has a national plan to end RHD by 2031, but experts say only a small part of the required funding has been committed.
In the lead-up to running her first marathon in 2019, Cecilia Johns received some "shocking" news.
She had volunteered herself for a heart check-up after conducting screenings for children at the health service where she worked.
She was floored by what she saw on the echocardiogram screen.
"I saw my own [heart] valve not working properly … and then heard the valve regurgitating," she said.
At 29 years old, she was fit and healthy but was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) despite showing no symptoms of it or its predecessor, acute rheumatic fever (ARF).
She suspected it may have started with childhood tonsillitis and sores from eczema — which can lead to ARF — but that possibility was never raised during her regular health check-ups.
Ms Johns is one of almost 12,000 people living with RHD or who have a history of ARF in Australia.
