The danger that rheumatic heart disease poses in Kenya

It is 8:00a.m. on a Thursday morning and patients begin to fill the cardiac unit reception area at Kenyatta National Hospital. Among them is 24-year-old Fraciah Njeri. Her small frame is covered by a black trench coat and a maroon shawl. Although the morning weather is chilly, she seems to feel a bit colder. Struggling to find a comfortable chair to sit on, she moves to a chair in the second row.

Fraciah Njeri with her mother Elizabeth Njoki at the hospital. (PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD)

Njeri is here for a ballistocardiograph (BCG) and echocardiograph, which are tests carried out on patients to diagnose and monitor heart disease. She is here with her younger brother and mother, Elizabeth Njoki, who tries to coax her to eat something - she takes about three bites of the fruit then stops.