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Heart Doctors Manhattan

Heart disease can be brought on by many factors. Any heart doc, Manhattan-based or otherwise, will tell you that some of these factors are in your control and others are not. Lifestyle changes are common for heart patients, but how much do you know about the cardiovascular problems caused by damage to the organ itself? This article will examine the effects of one such cause; Rheumatic heart disease (RHD).

Heart Doctors Manhattan

If a person contracts rheumatic fever and the on-set is acute, it can cause long term cardiac valve damage. This valve damage is known as RHD. The disease leads to heart failure.
Acute rheumatic fever leads to heart failure because it inflames almost the entire heart. This inflammation is called carditis.

There are three main portions of the heart that are affected by carditis: 

1. The pericardium, or exterior, of the heart
2. The heart muscle
3. The endocardia, or interior, of the heart

What are the symptoms of carditis?

A heart doc-Manhattan trained-will be familiar with the interior and exterior cardiac inflammation caused by this type of fever. They know the tell-tale signs of RHD to watch for. If the fever leads to chronic valve disease, the damage will get progressively worse. Repeated episodes of Rheumatic Fever will accelerate the valve deterioration.

The endocarditis that causes RHD differs from its infectious counterpart  since it is not precipitated by a direct cardiac bacterial infection. By contrast, the endocarditis in rheumatic fever is triggered by an autoimmune response to strep throat.

When does RHD begin to affect the heart?

RHD typically affects about half of the people who had rheumatic fever with carditis. Due to the prolonged nature of the inflammatory damage, it can take 10 to 20 years for RHD to develop after it’s triggered by the fever.

To find out how you can keep this condition in check, contact a local heart doc. Manhattan has many board-certified cardiologists to choose from.

Dr. Seldon, a Heart Doctor and Cardiologist in New York City, offers same day appointments and all testing is done on site. Call us at (212) 367-8000.