Kids with Kawasaki Foundation
Hospital & Health Care - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kids with Kawasaki Foundation Employees
Kids with Kawasaki Foundation Details
A CANADIAN FOUNDATION FOR KAWASAKI DISEASE AWARENESS The Kids with Kawasaki Foundation is a Montreal based non-profit foundation run by medical-oriented students serving their community, raising awareness, promoting medical research and empowering their peers WHAT IS KAWASAKI DISEASE? Kawasaki Disease or Kawasaki Syndrome is an uncommon but serious heart disease found among infants mostly under age 5. It is characterized by fever, rashes, swelling of the hands and feet, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, irritation and inflammation of the mouth, and whites of the eyes. KD was first discovered by Tomisaku Kawasaki, who was a Japanese pediatrician. Although the disease is widespread globally, it affects mostly children of Asia and the Pacific islands. It is hypothesized that KD is caused by a virus. KD is the most common cause for developed heart disease among children. Older children and teenagers may also get KD, but this is uncommon. This mysterious disease is more common in boys than girls and it is usually diagnosed during in the winter or during the spring. KD is caused by the inflammation of blood vessels throughout the bodies of young children. The cause of the disease is still unknown but it affects hundreds of thousands of kids from around the world each year. Also considered a form of a condition called vasculitis (the inflammation of the blood vessels), KD results in severe heart problems including myocarditis (inflammation of the coronary arteries), dysrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), and aneurysm (bulging of artery wall) (Healthline, n.d.). The acute phase of the disease usually last around 10-14 days. Children usually recover fully. However, coronary heart disease complications might potentially develop later in life.
