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Rheumatic Fever Learning Center
Complications could include:
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Arrhythmias; Damage to heart valves (in particular, mitral stenosis and aortic stenosis) Endocarditis; Heart failure; Pericarditis; Sydenham chorea;
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The long-term prognosis of an RF patient depends primarily on whether he or she develops carditis. This is the only manifestation of RF which can have permanent effects. Those patients with no or mild carditis have an excellent prognosis. Those wi...
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The long-term prognosis of an RF patient depends primarily on whether he or she develops carditis. This manifestation of RF is the only one that can have permanent effects. Those patients with no or mild carditis have an excellent prognosis. Those...
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Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure, is a condition in which the heart can no longer pump enough blood to the rest of the body.
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"Heart failure" is a broad term—often used inter-changeably with "congestive heart failure" (CHF)—to describe the heart's inability to consistently pump enough blood to the body's organs and tissues. Heart failure occurs either from a structural o...
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Heart failure is a condition in which the heart has lost the ability to pump enough blood to the body's tissues. With too little blood being delivered, the organs and other tissues do not receive enough oxygen and nutrients to function properly.
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Endocarditis is inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and heart valves (endocardium. See also: Culture-negative endocarditis; Infective endocarditis.
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The endocardium is the inner lining of the heart muscle, which also covers the heart valves. When the endocardium becomes damaged, bacteria from the blood stream can become lodged on the heart valves or heart lining. The resulting infection is kno...
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Endocarditis is an infection of the endocardium, the inner lining of the heart muscle and its four valves (tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, and aortic). Abnormal or damaged endocardium is more likely to become infected when bacteria enter the bloodst...
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Pericarditis is a condition in which the sac-like covering around the heart (pericardium) becomes inflamed. See also: Bacterial pericarditis
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Pericarditis is an inflammation of the two layers of the thin, sac-like membrane that surrounds the heart. This membrane is called the pericardium, so the term pericarditis means inflammation of the pericardium.
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Sydenham chorea is a movement disorder that occurs with rheumatic fever.
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Also called St. Vitus' dance, Sydenham's chorea is a disorder effecting children and characterized by jerky, uncontrollable movements, either of the face or of the arms and legs.
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Sydenham's chorea is an acute but self-limited movement disorder that occurs most commonly in children between the ages of five and 15, and occasionally in pregnant women. It is closely associated with rheumatic fever following a throat infection....
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The aorta is the main artery leaving the heart. When blood leaves the heart, it flows from the lower chamber (the left ventricle), through the aortic valve, into the aorta. In aortic stenosis, the aortic valve does not open fully. This restricts b...
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When aortic valve stenosis occurs, the aortic valve, located between the aorta and left ventricle of the heart, is narrower than normal size.
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Mitral stenosis is a heart valve disorder that involves the mitral valve. This valve separates the upper and lower chambers on the left side of the heart. Stenosis refers to a condition in which the valve does not open fully, restricting blood flow.
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The term stenosis means an abnormal narrowing of an opening. Mitral valve stenosis refers to a condition in the heart in which one of the valve openings has become narrow and restricts the flow of blood from the upper left chamber (left atrium) to...
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An arrhythmia is a disorder of the heart rate (pulse) or heart rhythm, such as beating too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia), or irregularly.
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An arrhythmia is an abnormality in the heart's rhythm, or heartbeat pattern. The heartbeat can be too slow, too fast, have extra beats, skip a beat, or otherwise beat irregularly.
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