Rheumatic heart disease: causes, treatment, diagnosis, signs, species, prognosis

click fraud protection

Rheumatic carditis( rheumatism of the heart) is a disease of the connective layers of the cardiac tissues. A pathological system, that is, affecting almost the entire body and most of the organs. Most often rheumatism affects the heart, joints, muscles, bone tissue. In children, rheumatic heart disease also affects the nervous system. This is manifested in the twitching of the face, eyes, the appearance of tics.

We will talk about potential problems of the patient with rheumatic heart disease, its pathogenesis, the main symptoms and treatment in this article.

Features of

Disease Rheumatic carditis is possible at any age, but children under 16 years of age are at greater risk.

• Very young children( up to 5 years) develop the disease very rarely.
• Children's forms of rheumatism are much heavier than adults. Numerous symptoms and intoxication lead to lesions of internal organs.
• For adults, the acute form of the disease, accompanied by a fever, is not inherent. Most often they suffer( especially women) from recurrent rheumatic heart disease.

Next we will talk about chronic and acute, primary and secondary rheumatic carditis

Classification

Species

The disease of rheumatic heart disease is divided into several varieties:

• Pankarditis .Severe and most dangerous condition, since the whole shell of the heart is affected. Completely disturbed by its normal work, it is not able to contract normally, blood circulation worsens. In this regard, there is a high risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Myocarditis rheumatic .The external, muscular membrane is affected. A person is worried about symptoms of heart failure, often interfere with his normal life. Endocarditis rheumatic .Inflammation affects the inner shell, which already creates a danger of heart defects. The risk of stenosis also increases, because pathology causes tissues to thicken and coalesce.

Degrees

Classification is carried out according to the degrees of illness:

1. The protracted process .Such a diagnosis is made with the duration of rheumatism about six months, when it does not show itself brightly and is accompanied by scant symptoms.
2. Acute process .Characterized by a sudden onset and an extensive set of symptoms. This form of pathology requires immediate intervention, as complications develop intensively.
3. Subsequent flow of .Rheumatic carditis is active, but still has a moderate character. Clinical manifestations are not so bright, they are noticeable for half a year. The therapeutic effect is usually also poorly expressed.
4. The continuously recurring process has an undulating course when the acute period is replaced by an incomplete remission. Pathologies of internal organs progress rapidly, and the patient suffers from numerous syndromes.
5. The latent flow is completely hidden. The patient may not be aware of the progression of the disease and its availability, and instrumental and laboratory diagnostic techniques do not indicate it. Often it happens that rheumatism diagnoses by already formed in the heart of vice.

Causes of

The disease appears as a complication, is a consequence of the transmitted infections. The most frequent cause of pathology is group A streptococcus. To diseases in which the risk of rheumatic heart disease is higher, include sinusitis, scarlet fever, angina. The causative agent of all these pathologies is the same as rheumatism. Other viruses can not cause such consequences. Only streptococcus produces toxins that destroy the most important organ of a person.

Sometimes the cause of rheumatic heart disease may be concealed in heredity. It does not matter how far-off relatives suffered from such a disease, all the same the risk of inflammation remains due to the transfer to the generation of the gene.

For signs and symptoms of rheumatic heart disease read on.

Symptoms of

The complete list of signs characteristic of rheumatism can not be called accurate, since the symptoms depend a lot on the degree of development of the disease and the damage to the body. But the general or common symptomatology nevertheless is characteristic for a pathology. So, the main symptoms of rheumatic heart disease are:

1. Weakness, pain in the joints of the "volatile" character, elevated temperature. Thus, a rheumatic attack is manifested.
2. Arrhythmia or tachycardia.
3. An inordinate character of pain in the heart.
4. Enlarged liver.
5. Symptoms of heart failure: increased liver, shortness of breath, wet cough at the slightest load, acrocyanosis, swelling of the legs.

Body aches and joints may be a sign that rheumatoid arthritis is quickly associated with rheumatism of the heart. It is very important to pay attention to this symptom, since it appears long before other signs of rheumatic heart disease. It can be considered that this is one of the first signals of the body, when the heart is not yet affected, but the process has already begun.

A more accurate characterization of the symptoms depends on the degree and depth of the heart muscle damage. Further, the diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease will be considered.

Diagnosis

It is extremely difficult to detect pathology, therefore, in addition to laboratory tests and auscultation, a number of instrumental studies are carried out.

• ECG plays a special role. With the help of ECG determine the nature of the course of the disease.
• Also used ultrasound and X-ray.
• In the analysis of blood, special attention is paid to the indices of C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Treatment

The treatment regimen is aimed at destroying the infection, blocking its effects completely and preserving the health of the heart tissue.

Therapeutic

Physiotherapy plays a significant role in the successful cure of rheumatic heart disease.

• In the active period and after the illness subsides, ultraviolet irradiation of the periarticular tissues and joints is used.
• Mud cure, electrical impulses, dry heat and applications, balneotherapy and various baths( radon, hydrogen sulphide, oxygen, carbon dioxide) are used.
• Ultraviolet is often supplemented with electrophoresis with antibiotics, microwaves, as these procedures help improve immunity.
• General and limb massage is used to prevent the effects of hypodynamia. It helps and improves blood circulation.

• The patient will need to pay attention and exercise therapy. The doctor himself will appoint a suitable time for classes and choose methods of physiotherapy.
• After attenuation of the acute phase, sanatorium-and-spa treatment becomes topical. Patients with rheumatic heart disease are also referred to institutions with low activity.

Medicated

Treatment is performed under stationary conditions. Therapy in each case is complex, that is, consisting of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics. But it is supplemented by a number of other means:

Glucocorticosteroids .Applied with a high degree of activity of rheumatic heart disease. In other conditions, medicines of this group are inappropriate to use.

NSAIDs and preparations with acetylsalicylic acid .It is with the help of these drugs that anti-inflammatory therapy is carried out. The course and dosage determine the doctors.

Quinoline drugs .Are required for relapsing or prolonged forms of the disease. The most commonly used plafvenil, Delagil. Traditionally, they are used with salicylates. The course is 2 years.

Cytostatic immunosuppressants .They are also used to treat relapsing forms of rheumatic carditis, but only in cases where other drugs( quinoline preparations and glucocorticosteroids) remain ineffective for a long time. After the appointment, periodic delivery of laboratory tests is required.

Gamma-globulin medications are prescribed in combination with desensitizing agents to avoid allergies. It is forbidden to use them in heart failure of severe form or if the rheumatic process manifests itself in an active form.

Diuretics and cardiac glycosides .This group of drugs is prescribed in the presence of serious damage to the heart.

Vitamins .In high doses, ascorbic acid and rutin are used.

Taking medications according to the individually developed course helps to prevent relapses, but it also depends on the patient. It is necessary to adhere to the principles of healthy living, harden and necessarily sanitize all the foci of inflammation. Recently, many new antibiotics have appeared in rheumatic heart disease, but they should be taken only according to the doctor's prescription.

Operation

The surgical technique of treatment is applied at an already formed defect. The operation is performed only at a time when rheumatic carditis is not in the active phase. Most often choose valvuloplasty.

Folk methods

Is rheumaticocarditis treated with folk remedies? The formation of valve defects occurs if not lightning fast, then very quickly, so the use of folk medicine alone will only aggravate the problem and lead to a deterioration in the prognosis. No such remedies can replace drugs. Therefore, the use of recipes of folk techniques is only used when obtaining permission from the attending physician and, most importantly, not during the period of exacerbation.

In this case, homemade products can help a lot to strengthen the muscles and immunity in general. The following recipes have a similar effect:

1. Broths and teas should be prepared from those plants that have a strengthening effect on the heart. Here belong the aronia, the hawthorn, the currant, the elderberry leaves, the dog rose. You can choose other herbs that have vitamin C in the composition.
2. Eleutherococcus rhizomes( 50 g) are poured with 0.5 liters of vodka and left in the dark for half a month. Tincture is shaken periodically, and after readiness drink 20 drops a day. After a couple of weeks of treatment, the dose is raised to 40 drops. The entire course is 1-1.5 months.
3. Stems of nettle( 1 tbsp.) Brew in a glass of boiling water and insist all night. You can put on fire( flood in this case with cold water), protrude for about 10 minutes and only then leave to insist. Drink a mixture of 100 ml 3 times a day. A month later, the pain in the heart and joints is reduced.
4. Bath with chamomile helps to relax and remove pain. The main thing is that it was not too hot.
5. Take in regular portions and camphor alcohol, add to this mixture 2 whipped proteins. The resulting medicine rubs the affected joints for anesthesia.
6. Remove the pain and compresses from grated potatoes.

Prevention of rheumatic heart disease

Preventive measures should be directed to timely treatment of streptococcal infection, regardless of the cause of its occurrence. Particular attention must be paid to the treatment of erysipelas and tonsillitis, as these diseases become an excellent springboard for the development of rheumatic heart disease. It is best to conduct the course of therapy under the supervision of a doctor to correctly combine anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agents.

If rheumatism has already developed, then rheumatic attacks must be prevented. All forces on this need to be directed at a relapsing form of the disease. Prevention necessarily includes the use of penicillin, and the course is very long, and sometimes lifelong.

Complications of

• Rheumatic carditis quickly leads to destruction of the heart valves. Even with a single case of rheumatic attack, malformations are formed in 20% of people. Because of cicatricial changes, stenosis( ie, constriction between the chamber orifices) or valve failure( the walls do not tighten) appears. Such endocardial damage provokes the formation of thrombi. This creates a risk of strokes and heart attacks, thromboembolism of the artery.
• The pump function of the heart muscle is broken, which in the future will lead to a number of complications. First of all, you need to fear acute heart failure. With frequent rheumatic attacks, the disease will flow into the chronic form, and afterwards the muscles will be added with sclerosis.
• Often myocarditis of rheumatic nature provokes acute arrhythmia. The main consequence of this complication is cardiac arrest. Chronic arrhythmia is also possible, especially if sclerosis has developed.

For the most common outcome of rheumatic heart disease, read below.

Forecast

An important role in the forecast is played by timely diagnostics.

• A favorable outcome of therapy will be in the detection of an early stage of rheumatism, because the heart and organs are affected to a small extent.
• The prognosis for the recurring process that appeared in childhood will be unfavorable.

In most cases, pathology leads to valvular defects. According to statistics, the formation of vice occurs in 15% of cases.

Elena Malysheva in the video below will tell in more detail about rheumatic heart disease: