Symptoms of Rheumatic Fever: An Overview and Guide for Management
Rheumatic fever, a potentially serious inflammatory condition, is often triggered by group A streptococcal infections, such as strep throat, tonsillitis, impetigo, and scarlet fever. If left untreated or if treatment is ineffective, rheumatic fever can lead to a host of long-term complications, the most severe being rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
Rheumatic heart disease is characterised by permanent damage to the heart valves, particularly the mitral and aortic valves. This damage can result in a variety of serious complications, including heart failure, arrhythmias, increased risk of stroke, endocarditis, and pericarditis.
Heart failure, a condition where the heart's function is impaired, can occur due to valve damage or inflammation. Arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms, may arise as a result of structural heart changes. The risk of stroke increases due to cardiac embolism from damaged valves or arrhythmias. Endocarditis, an infection of the heart valves, and pericarditis, inflammation of the heart's outer lining, can also develop as part of ongoing cardiac inflammation.
In the acute phase, rheumatic fever can affect not only the heart but also joints, skin, and the nervous system. However, it is the cardiac complications that represent the most serious long-term risks, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality.
It is crucial to note that patients who have had rheumatic fever remain at risk for recurrent attacks, which can worsen heart damage and prognosis if not properly prevented and managed. Long-term antibiotic prophylaxis is often recommended to prevent recurrent group A strep infections and subsequent rheumatic fever episodes.
The best way to avoid developing rheumatic fever is by properly treating group A strep infections. Early and effective treatment can help prevent the onset of rheumatic fever and its potentially devastating long-term consequences.
Symptoms of rheumatic fever may include a higher than usual temperature or fever, pain and swelling or redness of the joints, chest pains, breathlessness, a faster than usual heart rate, involuntary twitchy or jerky movements, tiny bumps under the skin, discolored patches on the arms or abdomen, a heart murmur that was not present before, an enlarged heart, fluid around the heart, nodules close to the joints, and a rash with pink rings and a clear center.
In conclusion, rheumatic heart disease with chronic valvular dysfunction and heart failure is the most important and serious long-term complication of rheumatic fever. Proper treatment of group A strep infections is the best way to avoid developing rheumatic fever and its potentially life-threatening consequences.
- The long-term complications of rheumatic fever, a rheumatic-fever-induced inflammatory condition, can include chronic-diseases like rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which causes permanent damage to the heart valves.
- Given that rheumatic heart disease is characterized by the impairment of the heart's function and the potential development of serious complications such as heart failure, arrhythmias, increased risk of stroke, endocarditis, and pericarditis, it significantly contributes to morbidity and mortality.
- The risk of stroke in patients with rheumatic heart disease increases due to cardiac embolism from damaged valves or arrhythmias, emphasizing the importance of proper treatment and management of rheumatic fever for maintaining health-and-wellness.
- While mental-health and neurological-disorders are not common long-term complications of rheumatic fever, acute cases can affect various systems, including the nervous system, underscoring the need for comprehensive medical-conditions care.
