Treatment of Chronic Rheumatic Heart Disease

When an individual’s heart get damaged due to rheumatic fever, he is likely to develop a condition called rheumatic heart disease. In this article, we have discussed how chronic rheumatic heart disease is treated.

Rest: In spite of receiving proper treatment for rheumatic fever many develops rheumatic heart disease; this happens when an individual is not responsive towards the antibiotics prescribed to him as remedy for rheumatic fever. In such cases, the patient must be in complete bed rest; this will reduce the workload of the valves and muscles of the heart.

Medications: Other than recommending bed rest, the doctor will prescribe medication for reducing the inflammation occurring in the patient’s heart muscles. Inflammation related to rheumatic fever is mostly caused by Streptococcus bacteria; as a result doctors will prescribe antibiotics for killing Streptococcus bacteria. A child diagnosed to be suffering from rheumatic fever is treated with antibiotics like penicillin; the treatment continues for several years in order to prevent recurrence of the infection, which can cause further damage to the child’s heart. The child might also need to take large dosages of aspirin for decreasing the inflammation taking place in his body.

Usually, valve leaks caused by rheumatic fever are mild and get healed without any serious medical intervention. However, if medical tests reveal that the leaks occurring in the patient’s heart valves are big enough to result in extra strain on his heart, the doctor will most likely prescribe medications for supporting the heart. Medications prescribed for decreasing strain on the ventricles include vasodilators. Vasodilators help in treating individuals experiencing aortic valve damages due to rheumatic fever. The vasodilators can benefit an individual with mitral valve damages only if he has experienced a heart failure due to the condition. People developing aortic regurgitation due to rheumatic fever are treated with ACE inhibitors and diuretics; these medications offer support to our cardiac functions.

Surgeries: Mitral valve damage occurring due to rheumatic fever can be treated most effectively using the technique of valve repair. It is a low risk surgical procedure and helps in preserving the functions of our heart more efficiently compared to a valve replacement surgery.