When rheumatic fever causes permanent damage to the heart valves, the specific medical condition is referred to as rheumatic heart disease. In this case, the damaged heart valve is neither completely open nor completely closed. Some patients do not immediately notice any symptoms that may indicate damage to heart valves. But, damaged heart valves often lead to serious outcome, including life threatening disabling problems. The actual problem will depend on the heart valve affected and the severity of damage. In the most advanced cases, the patient may have to suffer from congestive heart failure. Rheumatic fever does not only affect the tissues of the heart, it also increases the risk of potential damage to other connective tissues of the body, such as skin, brain, or joints.
Symptoms
Like with any other cardiac problem, the symptoms of rheumatic heart disease vary from one patient to another. In this case, the most common symptom is fever, which typically begins 1-6 weeks after a bout of strep throat. There can be several other signs, as well. For example, the patient may suffer from red, tender, swollen and extremely painful joints particularly the wrists, elbows, ankles, or knees. Red, raised, lattice-like rash - usually on the abdomen, back, and chest is also a potential sign of this disease. Other symptoms may include the following –
• Uncontrolled movements facial muscles, legs, or arms
• Shortness or weakness of breath
• Small bony protuberances – particularly over the swollen joints
It is also very important for you to understand that in some rare cases, the infection is too mild to get recognized. Taking a proper heart disease diet is very important to prevent and control this disease.
Prevention Tips
If you take the right preventive measures in time, rheumatic heart disease can easily be prevented. The objective here is to prevent rheumatic fever from ever occurring because this is how permanent damage to the heart valves is caused. The fever is caused because of bacteria which in medical term are referred to as streptococcus. When you consult your health care provider, he/she will first conduct a couple of medical tests in order to find out whether streptococcus is present in your body or not. If the result of the test comes positive, the doctor may prescribe a treatment with penicillin or other antibiotics. Even acute rheumatic fever can be controlled and stopped from developing further.
Here, it is very important for you to keep in mind that patients with previous attacks of rheumatic fever are at greater risk of heart damage through further attacks. Therefore, such patients should be very careful about it. They must undergo continuous treatment and practice proper heart disease exercise. The health care provider in such cases is very much likely to prescribe monthly or daily antibiotic treatment. Most often, the treatment continues for whole life.
If the patients are suffering from other medical conditions as well, it may increase the risk of bacterial endocarditis, especially if they undergo dental or surgical procedures. In fact, rheumatic fever is actually nothing but a complication of “untreated” strep throat. Therefore, if you want to prevent rheumatic heart disease, you must get proper treatment as soon as you are diagnosed for strep throat.