Rheumatic heart disease
By: Kaela Borders
Rheumatic heart disease is a condition that does irreversible damage to the heart, specifically the heart valves. This condition is cause by rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever can be a result of untreated strep throat or scarlet fever. This disease is also very rare, resulting in less than 20,000 cases in the United States per year. This disease is more likely to effect children 5-15 who have strep throat that has been left untreated. Some of the most common symptoms of rheumatic heart disease are fever, swollen or very painful joints, uncontrolled movement of the arms or legs, shortness of breath as well as red or raised lattice like rash. There are many different tests that are used when diagnosing rheumatic hear disease. Doctors often run and ECG, echo-cardiogram as well as doing an x-ray and MRI. Treatment options vary depending on how severe the damage is, is extreme cases surgery is needed to replace or repair the damaged valves.
Resources:
https://chw.org/medical-care/herma-heart/conditions/rheumatic-heart-disease#:~:text=
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/rheumatic-heart-disease
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