Rheumatic heart disease

Rheumatic heart disease — DVA SoP factors

Every factor in the Repatriation Medical Authority Statements of Principles for Rheumatic heart disease. DVA can only accept a claim for Rheumatic heart disease if at least one of these factors is met and connected to your service. Reasonable Hypothesis (RH) applies to operational service; Balance of Probabilities (BoP) applies to peacetime service.

Source: Repatriation Medical Authority Statements of Principles as held by the Veterans Health Centre. SoPs are amended and replaced regularly; always confirm the current instrument at rma.gov.au before relying on it.

RH No. 51 of 2019 · BoP No. 52 of 201916 factors

Meaning of rheumatic heart disease: For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, rheumatic heart disease: (a) means a clinically or echocardiographically documented cardiac disease, commonly involving the mitral or aortic valve, that follows acute rheumatic fever; and (b) includes pathological stenosis or regurgitation in the presence of scarring, deformity or morphological change of at least one heart valve, chronic rheumatic myocarditis and chronic rheumatic pericarditis; and (c) excludes acute carditis of acute rheumatic fever.

Reasonable Hypothesis (RH) — Statement of Principles No. 51 of 2019

At least one of the following factors must as a minimum exist before it can be said that a reasonable hypothesis has been raised connecting rheumatic heart disease or death from rheumatic heart disease with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:

(1)
having acute rheumatic fever at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease;
(2)
having a group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection of the skin or the pharynx at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease;
(3)
experiencing crowded living or working conditions at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease;
(4)
having acute rheumatic fever before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(5)
having a group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection of the skin or the pharynx before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(6)
experiencing crowded living or working conditions within the ten years before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(7)
being pregnant within the 30 days before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(8)
inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for rheumatic heart disease;

Aggravation-only factors: the factors in subsections 9(4) to 9(8) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, the condition where it was suffered or contracted before or during (but did not arise out of) the person’s relevant service.

Balance of Probabilities (BoP) — Statement of Principles No. 52 of 2019

8 factors

At least one of the following factors must exist before it can be said that, on the balance of probabilities, rheumatic heart disease or death from rheumatic heart disease is connected with the circumstances of a person's relevant service:

(1)
having acute rheumatic fever at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease;
(2)
having a group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection of the pharynx at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease;
(3)
experiencing crowded living or working conditions at least three months before the clinical onset of rheumatic heart disease;
(4)
having acute rheumatic fever before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(5)
having a group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection of the pharynx before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(6)
experiencing crowded living or working conditions within the ten years before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(7)
being pregnant within the 30 days before the clinical worsening of rheumatic heart disease;
(8)
inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for rheumatic heart disease;

Accepted — what is it worth?

A Statement of Principles decides one thing only: whether DVA accepts liability for rheumatic heart disease. It says nothing about how much you are paid. Compensation is worked out separately, from impairment points under the GARP — so a condition can be accepted and still rate few points, or rate more than you expect once it is combined with everything else on your file.