Report on the Recent Situation of Heart Valve Replacement for Rheumatic Heart Disease in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. Access to surgical treatment remains extremely limited. Specific treatment outcomes for the small group of patients who undergo surgery are not yet described in Burkina Faso, a country in western Africa. Our objective is to describe the scope and types of valve surgery of RHD performed in Burkina Faso, as well as the prognosis for patients. We conducted a retrospective study of all valve surgery procedures recorded between June 2021 and June 2025 in the Burkina Faso surgical registry. A total of 114 patients underwent heart valve surgical procedures. The majority of these patients belonged to the younger demographic (average age 27.2 years, with 45.6% aged ≤20 years), with 61 being female (53.5%). 61 were for mitral valve surgery (53.5%), 89 involved mitral valve replacement with concomitant interventions on multiple valves (78.1%), 23 were for aortic valve replacement (20.2%), and 8 involved the use of biological valves (7%). The perioperative mortality rate for these patients was 5.3% (6/114). Nearly 56 cases (46.1%) were performed within the past year, marking a significant increase compared to the previous four years, with no perioperative mortality. Postoperative examinations revealed a reduction in heart size and improved cardiac function. We find patients with RHD in Burkina Faso experience early-onset and severe disease. The number of patients receiving treatment has been increasing year by year, and both the technical level and treatment outcomes have been improving over time.