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Heart Disease
Rheumatic
Heart Disease is Treatable
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Rheumatic
heart disease, also called rheumatic fever,
occurs when an untreated strep throat infection migrates
to the joints and heart, causing fever, muscle aches, and
possible permanent heart valve damage. Just as “rheumatism”
refers to joint pain, “rheumatic” fever gets its
name because one of its main symptoms is actually pain in
the joints rather than the heart.
The National Institute of Health estimate that rheumatic
heart disease develops in about 3% of untreated strep
throat infections in the United States. Because mainly young
people get strep, accordingly rheumatic heart disease
mostly strikes people aged between six and fifteen years
old.
Most people in the west who get strep will never develop
rheumatic heart disease, because the strep throat
infection is treated effectively with antibiotics. However,
if fever, irregular heart beat, nodes under the skin, and
other symptoms appear after a strep infection, a doctor
will perform lab tests to diagnose rheumatic fever.
Penicillin treats rheumatic heart disease symptoms,
including the contraction of the heart, which may damage
heart valves; however, there is no cure for the disease,
and patients must continue with penicillin injections. Some
doctors argue this treatment should continue for the rest
of the patient’s life. Left untreated, besides the
symptoms of physical pain, rheumatic heart disease can cause
permanent heart valve damage. Without surgery, heart valve
damage can lead to fatal heart failure.
Cases And Treatment Worldwide
Doctors working with the Australian National Heart Foundation
are working on a vaccine to prevent rheumatic fever. After
an unexplained jump in the number of cases among the Aboriginal
population of Australia from 2004 to 2006, doctors launched
the world’s most advanced investigation of rheumatic
heart disease.
In New Zealand as well, rheumatic fever is a problem among
some populations, and the treatment there is penicillin
shots every month for ten years. One famous rugby player,
a childhood victim of rheumatic heart disease, admits
to “getting lazy” about having his shots, and
the symptoms of the disease returned to him as an adult.
Luckily, he knew his problem and how to get help. Some people,
especially those with little access to health care, simply
suffer through fever attacks, and fall victim to heart valve
failure.
In fact, the World Heart Federation in Geneva, Switzerland
calls rheumatic fever a disease born of poverty. Though
it is easily prevented by a good strep throat treatment,
many young people of the world do not have access to the
healthcare that would keep their heart valves healthy and
extend their lives.
Discover how to treat any disease - with herbs, hebal,
and natural from the complete health guide to self healing
and make your very own home remedies for better health.
Click
Here!
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