{"id":1725,"date":"2025-02-26T11:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T11:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/?p=1725"},"modified":"2025-02-26T11:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T11:59:15","slug":"rheumatic-heart-disease-rhd-a-preventable-threat-to-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/rheumatic-heart-disease-rhd-a-preventable-threat-to-your-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD): A Preventable Threat to Your Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Rheumatic Heart Disease?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is a serious heart condition caused by untreated strep throat or scarlet fever. When a bacterial infection (Group A Streptococcus) is left untreated, the body\u2019s immune response can mistakenly attack the heart valves, leading to permanent damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of Rheumatic Heart Disease<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RHD develops years after an untreated strep infection, so early detection is crucial. Symptoms include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Shortness of breath \u2013 Even with mild activities<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Chest pain \u2013 Due to valve damage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Fatigue \u2013 Feeling excessively tired<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Swollen legs or feet \u2013 Due to poor heart function<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) \u2013 A sign of advanced disease<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Fainting or dizziness \u2013 Due to improper blood circulation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is RHD Dangerous?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If left untreated, RHD can lead to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Heart failure \u2013 The heart struggles to pump blood efficiently<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Valve damage \u2013 Leading to leakage or narrowing of heart valves<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Stroke or blood clots \u2013 Due to irregular blood flow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Infective endocarditis \u2013 A life-threatening infection of damaged valves<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treatment of Rheumatic Heart Disease<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While valve damage is irreversible, treatment focuses on preventing complications and improving heart function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\ufe0f\u20e3 Medical Management<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\ude7a Antibiotics \u2013 To prevent recurrent strep infections (Penicillin prophylaxis)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc8a Anti-inflammatory medications \u2013 To reduce swelling in the heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2764\ufe0f Blood thinners \u2013 If there\u2019s valve disease with clot risk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\ufe0f\u20e3 Surgical Treatment (For Severe Cases)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd39 Balloon Valvuloplasty \u2013 A minimally invasive procedure to open narrowed valves<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd39 Valve Repair \u2013 Restoring damaged valves<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd39 Valve Replacement \u2013 Using a mechanical or tissue valve to replace a failing valve<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Prevent Rheumatic Heart Disease?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Early treatment of sore throat \u2013 A simple antibiotic course can prevent RHD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Regular follow-ups \u2013 Especially for those with a history of strep infections<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Penicillin prophylaxis \u2013 Lifelong antibiotics in some cases to prevent recurrence<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Healthy lifestyle \u2013 Proper diet, exercise, and avoiding infections help maintain heart health<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Takeaway<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rheumatic Heart Disease is entirely preventable, yet it remains a leading cause of heart valve damage in young adults. Timely treatment of strep throat can save a lifetime of heart trouble. If you or your loved ones experience symptoms, seek medical help immediately!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc99 Your heart matters\u2014protect it early!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd01 Share this post to raise awareness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is Rheumatic Heart Disease? Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is a serious heart condition caused by untreated strep throat or scarlet fever. When a bacterial infection (Group A Streptococcus) is left untreated, the body\u2019s immune response can mistakenly attack the heart valves, leading to permanent damage. Symptoms of Rheumatic Heart Disease RHD develops years after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1727,"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1725\/revisions\/1727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdevrajcardiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}