Symptoms,Treatment and Prevention of Rheumatic Fever Acuterheumatic fever is an inflammation that may affect many parts of the body. It can be a complication of streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat), a type of bacterial infection of the throat. Single or repeated episodes of rheumatic fever can lead to chronic rheumatic heart disease. Fortunately, not all streptococcal throat infections are followed by rheumatic fever. Signs of rheumatic fever usually begin 2 to 3 weeks after infection, but may appear as early as 1 week or as late as 5 weeks. Although there have been reports of new outbreaks, rheumatic fever is uncommon in the U.S. except among recent immigrants. It most frequently occurs in children between 5 and 15 years of age. Rheumatic fever is rare before age 4 and after age 40. Symptoms Heart inflammation (carditis) affects about half the patients and has been reported in one- to two-thirds of children hospitalized during...
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 05:15:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015