Can rheumatic heart disease cause pain throughout the body?

Written by Jia Qiu Ju
Cardiology
Updated on January 07, 2025
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Rheumatic heart disease itself does not cause generalized pain, but during the acute phase of rheumatic fever, generalized joint pain or fever-induced muscle soreness can occur due to the disease. Rheumatic heart disease arises when rheumatic fever affects the heart valves, leading to conditions such as stenosis and insufficiency. This typically affects the mitral and aortic valves but can also involve the tricuspid and pulmonary valves. Clinical symptoms of rheumatic heart disease primarily include heart dysfunction, chronic heart failure, or acute heart failure episodes, and can also present with arrhythmias, predominantly atrial fibrillation, which can lead to an enlargement of the atria and the formation of mural thrombi, resulting in thromboembolic complications.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
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Can rheumatic heart disease cause fever?

Rheumatic heart disease, in the early stages of onset, can present with fever. The main cause of rheumatic heart disease is due to an infection with streptococcus that causes damage to the heart valves. Initially, bacterial infection is the most prominent clinical manifestation, with common diseases like tonsillitis. If effective medication is applied to control the infection at this time, it can reduce the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease. If not treated promptly, it can lead to damage to the heart valves, resulting in rheumatic heart disease.

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Written by Wang Lei
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Does rheumatic heart disease require surgery?

Patients with rheumatic heart disease primarily have involvement of valvular lesions, with the most common being accumulation in the mitral valve, leading to mitral stenosis. In the early stage of the disease, mitral stenosis often has no clinical symptoms and can only be detected through physical examinations, such as auscultation, which may reveal mitral valve murmurs. For patients with asymptomatic rheumatic heart disease, conservative treatment is primarily advised, which includes rest and reducing cardiac load to avoid surgery. Additionally, for severe rheumatic heart disease, mitral stenosis can be very serious, affecting the patient's cardiac function and causing symptoms such as chest tightness and fatigue after activity, and even paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea and inability to lie flat at night. In such cases, surgical treatment is required, such as mitral valvuloplasty or prosthetic valve replacement surgery. Thus, surgery is necessary in the late stages of rheumatic heart disease.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
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Rheumatic heart disease causes

The primary cause of rheumatic heart disease is an abnormal immune response caused by infection with hemolytic streptococcus, which leads to damage of the heart valves. This damage results in narrowing or insufficiency of the valves, altering the hemodynamics within the blood and increasing the burden on the heart, thereby causing a series of clinical symptoms. Early control of streptococcal infections can reduce the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease. Common streptococcal infections include upper respiratory tract infections, acute tonsillitis, and suppurative tonsillitis. Actively using effective antibiotics to control these infections can greatly reduce the incidence of rheumatic heart disease.

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Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
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What should I do if rheumatic heart disease causes excessive sweating?

If patients frequently experience heart murmurs in the precordial area due to rheumatic heart disease, accompanied by palpitations, chest tightness, and sweating, it is recommended to treat with infusion therapy and use medication to control the patient's heart function. If the patient's heart function is corrected, the symptoms of sweating will also be alleviated or relieved. It is advised that patients visit a cardiology department and choose hospitalization to improve their symptoms. After treatment, long-term and regular oral medication is still needed, as this disease is prone to recurrence. Regular hospital visits for electrocardiograms and echocardiograms are also necessary. If the symptoms are severe, sometimes surgical treatment may be recommended to relieve the current sweating symptoms.

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Written by Di Zhi Yong
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What should I do about rheumatic heart disease asthma?

If the patient has rheumatic heart disease, the main symptoms include palpitations, chest tightness, and shortness of breath after activity, as well as swelling in both lower extremities. If wheezing symptoms occur, some cardiotonic drugs can be used in treatment to improve the patient's symptoms. Currently, treatment primarily focuses on symptomatic relief and improving the patient's cardiac and pulmonary functions. During this period, it is important to actively prevent complications. If the patient's symptoms occur abruptly, it is crucial to seek immediate medical attention at a hospital. Sometimes, infusion therapy and low-flow oxygen inhalation are required to effectively alleviate the patient's current symptoms of palpitations, chest tightness, and breathing difficulties.