Rheumatic fever and valvular heart disease

I became a disease which causes heart disease with rheumatic fever as a child. This page is a little person who wanted to reduce migration from rheumatic fever heart disease, like me, my experience is described through the relationship between rheumatic fever and heart valve disease.

What is the rheumatic fever?

In general, it was known well It is sick besides "Chronic rheumatism" "Rheumatism", and "Rheumatic fever" mentioned here. The inflammation learns both of the symptom that the chronic rheumatism and the rheumatic fever developed at the early stage by experience to the joint. However, passage afterwards and the method of treatment become the quite different one.

Rheumatic fever is a group A streptococcus (strep) infections, and flu-like symptoms in smear throat is swollen body heat. The smears endocarditis arthritis of the limbs and heart. Rheumatoid arthritis is usually hot to be chronic in nature no cure.

As the age of onset is between 5 and 15 years old with the most. Less than 3 years to become even rheumatic fever streptococcus infection is small, it seems less adult onset.

Appearance of disease of valvular heart disease after rheumatic fever recovers

Streptococcal (strep) may cause rheumatic fever and acute glomerulonephritis in infection. After this, as in the body made antibodies against Streptococcus, streptococcal infections (rheumatic fever and acute glomerulonephritis) is a natural healing, tissue heart valves is similar to the streptococcal antibody and joints, kidneys respond to specific (antigen-antibody reaction) may be.

The problem here is particularly endocarditis after cardiac rheumatic fever. Inflammation of the lining of the heart itself, usually joints and then I will heal on its own, often cause deformation of the film, especially the mitral valve in the heart, heart valve disease (mitral regurgitation, mitral stenosis disease) may be referred to as rheumatic heart disease.

View of rheumatism reaction inspection

The degree of the chronic rheumatism, the hemolytic streptococcal infection, and the inflammation is understood from the rheumatism reaction inspection in the hospital. The view of the laboratory results is following.

Treatment and prevention of rheumatic fever (Very important)

In the treatment of the rheumatic fever, it is the most important to make them administering the antibiotic (penicillin) as soon as possible or neither killing out hemolytic streptococcal nor make my antibody in the body when the attack is understood. It is judged as soon as possible whether it is a rheumatic fever.

And that antibodies against Streptococcus in the body, there is a risk of mistaken attacks and destroys the heart valves and their hemolytic streptococcus antibodies.

The penicillin of the antibiotic is taken for the child who has experienced the rheumatic fever in the past to prevent it from hanging to the hemolytic streptococcal infection again every day or the muscle is injected with every month. After that of growing up, such a preventive treatment seems to have to continue.

Appearance of disease and passing through my rheumatic fever and valvular heart disease

Appearance of disease of my rheumatic fever

I hung to the rheumatic fever that generation of heat and both knees like the cold become painful at the age of five. It had not gone to the elementary school yet. It is not possible to move because it has a pain in both feet and I remember having become bedridden.

It was not possible to go to the hospital because it was the country of about 1955 and there was not a car either, and the general practitioner's house call was received. I remember having been injected though what injection it is is not understood. Only one time on this day or treatment twice.

It cannot be thought that this injection was an antibiotic if it thinks now. The story that it was a rheumatic fever has not been heard. It is from knowledge that knew taking at this time to be a rheumatic fever obtained from the book that becomes a junior high school student and is read. It did not know any rheumatic fever though it asked parents of course.

It seems that no valvular heart disease (mitral insufficiency) afterwards if [torenkin] is thoroughly beaten with the antibiotic at this time. It is regretted very much. The doctor did understand neither the rheumatic fever nor the heart disease well and doesn't learn in those days either.

Appearance of disease and passing through my valvular heart disease

It was diagnosed as the valvular heart disease by the school doctor's examination in the school at the first grader in the elementary school. Even the school doctor in the country of turning as many as 80 another years old might have been bad the equivalent condition because it had understood with the valvular heart disease. However, treatments other than the movement limitation were not directed.

It caught a cold when it was a junior high school student, tonsils were swollen, the kidney worsened, and swelling and the hypertrophy of the heart of the whole body were seen. Tonsils that suppurate as treatment will be removed. It extracted tonsil by the hospitalization of about two weeks. When tonsils are removed, the condition of the kidney and the heart has been gradually improved.

It hangs in the specialist with the heart of the Okayama city and the passage of the heart has been observed once every year since then. After that, the heart is not especially treated now. However, an intense movement like the marathon and the swim, etc. was limited. I think that a moderate movement is good, and have done walking and a longtime cycling positively.

It moved from Osaka to Okayama at the age of 32. The specialist with the heart : recently. "This valvular heart disease (mitral insufficiency) doesn't recover through life. There is no necessity of treatment, and is not a necessity of going to hospital regularly any longer either."It declared. I remember to be very glad.

When going to elementary school, the body weakly had only the cold to me very much. I think that recovering was also bad. I wanted to manage to make this, and started the cold water friction from knowledge that read the book. Mother was telling it not to do such a thing. It is about ..elementary school.. five-sixth-year student.

Maybe, I think that it is a source where the decision and the execution at this time led my body to health. The cold water friction (cold water shower) is still executed every day.