What can I claim secondary to acute rheumatic fever?
4 conditions in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list acute rheumatic fever as a factor. If DVA has accepted your acute rheumatic fever, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionAcute rheumatic fever
- Conditions it may open4
- SourceRMA SoPs
- Chart Review$600 + GST
How a secondary claim works
Some Statement of Principles factors are not about service at all — they name another condition. Where DVA has already accepted your acute rheumatic fever, and another condition's SoP lists acute rheumatic fever as a factor, that part of the next claim is already established on your file. How a secondary claim works, in full →
Conditions that list acute rheumatic fever as a factor
Quoted from the instrument. A pathway existing is not the same as a claim succeeding — each factor carries thresholds your record has to satisfy.
Heart block
RH No. 23 of 2022 · BoP No. 24 of 2022
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (32): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of the clinical onset of heart block” [clinical onset] — factor (65): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of the clinical worsening of heart block” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (26): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of the clinical onset of heart block” [clinical onset] — factor (53): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of the clinical worsening of heart block” [worsening]
Myocarditis
RH No. 17 of 2024 · BoP No. 18 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (6): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (6): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of clinical onset or clinical worsening” [onset and worsening]
Pericarditis
RH No. 90 of 2023 · BoP No. 91 of 2023
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (14): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of the clinical onset or clinical worsening of pericarditis” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (14): “having acute rheumatic fever at the time of the clinical onset or clinical worsening of pericarditis” [onset and worsening]
Rheumatic heart disease
RH No. 51 of 2019 · BoP No. 52 of 2019
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (1): “having acute rheumatic fever at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease” [clinical onset] — factor (4): “having acute rheumatic fever before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (1): “having acute rheumatic fever at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease” [clinical onset] — factor (4): “having acute rheumatic fever before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease” [worsening]
Other accepted conditions that also open heart block
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions acute rheumatic fever does.
What DVA means by acute rheumatic fever
A claim is tested against the definition first. If the diagnosis on your file does not meet this wording, the factors below never get reached — so it is worth checking that what your doctor wrote matches what the instrument requires.
Acute rheumatic fever, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, acute rheumatic fever: (a) means a systemic, inflammatory autoimmune disease that follows laboratory confirmed infection with beta-haemolytic streptococcus; and (b) excludes post-streptococcal reactive arthritis.
Note the exclusion. This instrument expressly excludes post-streptococcal reactive arthritis. A diagnosis of that is not a diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever, and a claim framed the wrong way fails on the definition before any factor is considered.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(6) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, acute rheumatic fever where it was already present before or during service. If service caused acute rheumatic fever outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 53 of 2019 · BoP No. 54 of 2019 · 4 factors
Reviewed by Dr Thomas Perkins
Founding doctor, Veterans Health Centre · former RAAF aviation medical officer · 13 years working exclusively with ADF members and veterans. Full profile →
Acute rheumatic fever accepted?
Contact us for more information.