Living with a heart condition can be a heavy burden, especially when the risk depends largely on where you live. A large review of data from Nepal reveals a striking gap in heart health. People living outside the capital city of Kathmandu are much more likely to have rheumatic heart disease than those living in the city.
Researchers looked at over 200,000 people to track how often this heart condition appears. They found that the prevalence of the disease is about 3.1% overall. However, the numbers jump significantly in non-urban areas, where the rate is 7.2%. In contrast, the rate in Kathmandu is only 1.1%. This means the risk is six times higher for those outside the capital.
While the data shows a rising trend in cases over the last thirty years, the findings come with some caution. Because the studies used to gather this data were very different from one another, the researchers noted that the results have some uncertainty. Still, the clear geographic difference highlights a major health challenge for people in rural regions.
