Students at 15 schools in Aunuu and Tutuila will be screened for Rheumatic Heart Disease over the next two weeks.

The screening will be conducted by the Rheumatic Relief Group from BYU Utah that’s arriving Wednesday night, and will be working with the Department of Health and Department of Education.

The BYU Utah team will be led by former LDS volunteer cardiologist at the LBJ Hospital Dr Eric Carter with his wife Allison Carter and will include 18 health care professionals and pre med students.

The team will be screening for leaky heart valves resulting from untreated strep infections. A rough estimate of over 5,000 students attending these 15 schools will have the opportunity to get a free screening provided parents sign the consent form. If consent if not given, the student will not be screened for this critical heart condition.

The screening process is non-invasive, it involves only a quick x-ray of the heart valves to check their health, with no needles or blood drawn.

If a student is found to have leaky heart valves, their parents will be contacted and the student will be referred for treatment based on the cardiologist’s recommendations. Parents are urged to sign the consent forms for their children so they can receive this critical screening.

Below is the RHD screening schedule: