What is cardiac rheumatism?

Today, cardiac rheumatism occupies one of the main places among all heart diseases. The cause of the appearance of pathology can be both adverse environmental factors and heredity. Chronic rheumatic heart disease is characterized as a rapidly developing pathological process of an inflammatory nature, accompanied by such a malignant disease as rheumatism.

How is rheumatism of the heart manifested?

As you know, the cause of the development of some heart diseases can be malnutrition, bad habits and lack of proper physical activity.

The causes of some inflammatory diseases and heart defects are:

• injuries in the chest area;
• some hereditary diseases;
• sclerosis of the vascular system.

Rheumatism of the heart is now quite common. At the same time, the younger part of the population is often sick.

Rheumatism of the heart develops against the background of a long-term rheumatic disease. The chronic process is manifested by a strong disorganization of the connective tissue. This process is accompanied by the formation of small rheumatic nodules. Then they scar, resulting in the development of severe cardiosclerosis.

Chronic rheumatic heart disease (CRHD) in most cases has a diffuse character. That is, this process can gradually cover all the shells of the heart.

However, such a complication is now less common, since modern medicine has reached such a level that it is possible to treat the disease immediately after its first symptoms appear. In some cases, doctors can detect symptoms of muscle damage. In this case, they talk about the development of myocarditis.

Main symptoms of rheumatic heart disease

Rheumatic heart disease can be fairly easily diagnosed. To do this, when the first symptoms of the disease appear, you should consult a doctor. He will prescribe all the necessary examinations and tests that will help confirm the diagnosis according to the already existing symptoms of the disease. But you should never ignore the signs of the disease, especially if they do not go away with time.

CRPS is usually manifested by such diagnostic symptoms:

• Some expansion of the cardiac boundaries is noted: this symptom can be seen during conventional fluorography or on a chest x-ray.
• The composition of the blood changes: such a change is determined by the results of a general and biochemical blood test.

• There are murmurs in the heart: they can be heard with a conventional phonendoscope.
• Heart tones are muffled, which are also most often heard during the most common examination by a cardiologist.

In some cases, heart failure may even develop. All these symptoms can be confirmed by electrocardiogram results and rheumatic tests.

The main clinical symptoms are:

• aching pain in the chest area;
• slightly increased body temperature;
• quite frequent nosebleeds appear;
• the work of the heart becomes spasmodic;
• there is a general impotence;
• severe shortness of breath;
• excessive sweating;

• the skin becomes too pale;
• there is a strong weakness at the slightest load or movements.

Depending on how pronounced the manifestations of rheumatism are, how much the lesion has spread, they share the inflammatory or focal type of the disease:

1. When there is no timely and adequate treatment, focal rheumatism is manifested by some growth of cardiac borders, the appearance of an initial form of heart failure. Particularly affected are the valves of the heart, since it is they that are most affected by the developing inflammation.
2. With the diagnosis of diffuse rheumatic heart disease, the symptoms are more pronounced. The expansion of the heart boundaries is more pronounced. Acute heart failure develops.

Only timely diagnosis of the disease will help prescribe prompt and most adequate treatment in each individual case.

You should always remember that if even the slightest signs of rheumatism appear, if the patient knows about the hereditary nature of this disease, then you should immediately seek help from a specialist.

After all, only a correct diagnosis and timely treatment can guarantee some positive result in the treatment of chronic rheumatic heart disease.

If the patient hesitates to contact the doctor and be treated on his own, and even more so by some folk methods, then this can lead to rather disastrous consequences. And sometimes even fatal. After all, the inflammatory process affecting the heart usually develops quite slowly. But in some cases, the course of the disease can be acute and almost lightning fast.

Treatment of rheumatic heart disease

Treatment of rheumatism after diagnosis should be immediate. Its main goal is to reduce the symptoms of inflammation. Much attention is directed to the relief of emerging heart failure, as well as to bring the cardiovascular system into its normal working condition.

Comprehensive treatment usually consists of the use of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Almost all patients are prescribed:

• Penicillin;
• erythromycin antibiotics;
• some glucocorticosteroids.

In more severe cases, special preparations containing gamma globulins are used for treatment. Sometimes desensitizing agents are also added. Treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs is always accompanied by the intake of vitamins, especially ascorbic acid.

Among glucocorticosteroids, Prednisolone usually occupies the main place in the elimination of rheumatism of the heart. Its dose is prescribed depending on how severe the inflammatory process is and what pathological deformations have occurred in the thickness of the heart muscle. If the patient has been diagnosed with protracted rheumatic heart disease, then the therapy will consist in prescribing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Glucocorticosteroids and some basic antirheumatic drugs are also added to them.

Among them:

• Plaquenil;
• Chloroquine;
• Benzylpenicillin.

With rheumatism of the heart, preventive spa treatment is almost always prescribed. A calm lifestyle, proper nutrition, the necessary preventive procedures, mineral waters and mud therapy give positive results even in the most severe and protracted forms of the disease.

If at least some symptoms of the disease are noticed, then you should immediately consult a doctor about this. He will prescribe all the necessary examinations, according to which the most correct diagnosis will be made. In this case, treatment should be prescribed taking into account all the symptoms, the availability of examination results and information about the heredity of this disease in each individual patient.

Remember, only with a correct diagnosis, timely treatment and compliance with all the doctor's recommendations, you can achieve positive dynamics in the treatment of rheumatic heart disease.