{"id":5640,"date":"2025-12-13T16:35:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T21:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=5640"},"modified":"2025-12-13T17:53:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T22:53:48","slug":"rheumatic-fever-and-rheumatic-heart-disease","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/chapter\/rheumatic-fever-and-rheumatic-heart-disease\/","title":{"raw":"7p25  Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease","rendered":"7p25  Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease"},"content":{"raw":"<h1><strong>Overview:<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Caused by a\u00a0<strong>strain of Streptococcus<\/strong>, specifically\u00a0<strong>group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>It is a\u00a0<strong>complication<\/strong>\u00a0that can follow\u00a0<strong>untreated or poorly treated strep throat<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The condition is more common in areas with\u00a0<strong>limited access to healthcare and antibiotics<\/strong>\u00a0but is less frequent in countries like Canada due to prompt treatment.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1><strong>Pathogenesis:<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The initial infection is\u00a0<strong>strep throat<\/strong>\u00a0(upper respiratory tract infection).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The bacteria\u00a0<strong>enter the bloodstream<\/strong>\u00a0and then\u00a0<strong>travel to the heart<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>In rheumatic fever,\u00a0<strong>antibodies<\/strong>\u00a0develop against the\u00a0<strong>strep bacteria<\/strong>.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>These\u00a0<strong>antibodies<\/strong>\u00a0can\u00a0<strong>cross-react<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<strong>body tissues<\/strong>, particularly\u00a0<strong>heart valves<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>This\u00a0<strong>autoimmune response<\/strong>\u00a0leads to\u00a0<strong>valvular damage<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>deterioration<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1><strong>Progression if Untreated:<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Persistent infection leads to\u00a0<strong>chronic rheumatic heart disease<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Valve damage<\/strong>\u00a0causes\u00a0<strong>valvular stenosis or regurgitation<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Long-term effects:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Permanent heart valve deterioration<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Possible\u00a0<strong>heart failure<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>arrhythmias<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1><strong>Treatment &amp; Prevention:<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Antibiotics<\/strong>\u00a0(e.g., penicillin):\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>To eliminate bacteria and prevent autoimmune complications.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Early treatment of\u00a0<strong>strep throat<\/strong>\u00a0prevents progression to rheumatic fever.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>In\u00a0<strong>Canada and similar countries<\/strong>, most strep throat cases are treated promptly, so\u00a0<strong>rheumatic fever<\/strong>\u00a0is rare.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/h1>\r\nRheumatic fever results from an autoimmune response triggered by <strong>group A streptococcal infection<\/strong>, with potential long-term damage to heart valves if untreated. Prompt antibiotic treatment of strep throat is critical for prevention.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;","rendered":"<h1><strong>Overview:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li>Caused by a\u00a0<strong>strain of Streptococcus<\/strong>, specifically\u00a0<strong>group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It is a\u00a0<strong>complication<\/strong>\u00a0that can follow\u00a0<strong>untreated or poorly treated strep throat<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The condition is more common in areas with\u00a0<strong>limited access to healthcare and antibiotics<\/strong>\u00a0but is less frequent in countries like Canada due to prompt treatment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>Pathogenesis:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li>The initial infection is\u00a0<strong>strep throat<\/strong>\u00a0(upper respiratory tract infection).<\/li>\n<li>The bacteria\u00a0<strong>enter the bloodstream<\/strong>\u00a0and then\u00a0<strong>travel to the heart<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In rheumatic fever,\u00a0<strong>antibodies<\/strong>\u00a0develop against the\u00a0<strong>strep bacteria<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>These\u00a0<strong>antibodies<\/strong>\u00a0can\u00a0<strong>cross-react<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<strong>body tissues<\/strong>, particularly\u00a0<strong>heart valves<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This\u00a0<strong>autoimmune response<\/strong>\u00a0leads to\u00a0<strong>valvular damage<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>deterioration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>Progression if Untreated:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li>Persistent infection leads to\u00a0<strong>chronic rheumatic heart disease<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Valve damage<\/strong>\u00a0causes\u00a0<strong>valvular stenosis or regurgitation<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Long-term effects:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Permanent heart valve deterioration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Possible\u00a0<strong>heart failure<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>arrhythmias<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>Treatment &amp; Prevention:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Antibiotics<\/strong>\u00a0(e.g., penicillin):\n<ul>\n<li>To eliminate bacteria and prevent autoimmune complications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Early treatment of\u00a0<strong>strep throat<\/strong>\u00a0prevents progression to rheumatic fever.<\/li>\n<li>In\u00a0<strong>Canada and similar countries<\/strong>, most strep throat cases are treated promptly, so\u00a0<strong>rheumatic fever<\/strong>\u00a0is rare.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Rheumatic fever results from an autoimmune response triggered by <strong>group A streptococcal infection<\/strong>, with potential long-term damage to heart valves if untreated. Prompt antibiotic treatment of strep throat is critical for prevention.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1370,"menu_order":31,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["zoe-soon"],"pb_section_license":"cc-by-nc-sa"},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[60],"license":[57],"class_list":["post-5640","chapter","type-chapter","status-web-only","hentry","contributor-zoe-soon","license-cc-by-nc-sa"],"part":55,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1370"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5642,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5640\/revisions\/5642"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/55"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5640\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=5640"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=5640"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=5640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}