ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular disorders can take many forms, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart valve defects, and rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease. In children, cardiovascular problems are categorized as either congenital or acquired disorders that occur before or after birth and are the direct result of damage to the heart and/or blood vessels, septal defects, or valvular heart dysfunctions. Rheumatic heart disease, often neglected by the media and policy makers, is a major burden in developing countries where it causes most of the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in young people, leading to about 250,000 deaths per year worldwide. Hypertension is also one kind of cardiovascular deficit that teachers and school personnel can help identify and incorporate into a treatment program. Decreasing the amount of body fat not only is important in itself, but also usually entails other behaviors that help reduce cardiovascular risk factors, such as reducing salt and cholesterol intake and increasing physical activity.
