Complications of rheumatic heart disease
In severe cases, you may develop serious complications, as follows:
1- Heart failure:
Your heart can’t pump enough blood to meet your body’s demands. The affected valve determines the side of heart failure. The Mitral valve affects the right side, while the aortic valve affects the left. Right-side heart failure causes systemic congestion, while the left side causes pulmonary congestion.
2- Arrhythmia:
You can feel irregular heartbeats. Healthy people don’t feel their heartbeat because it’s regular all over the time. There are many subtypes of arrhythmia, but the primary types are tachycardia and bradycardia. Tachycardia means a rapid heart rate (more than 100 beats per minute), while bradycardia means a heart rate slower than 60 beats per minute. You may feel shortness of breath, fluttering, fatigue, fast or slow heartbeats, sweating, and anxiety.
3- Stroke
Is a block of blood vessels that supply the brain, which leads to the death of the brain cells. Stroke is an extreme emergency condition, so early management reduces the possibility of extensive brain cells death. You may have problems with speech, vision, and walking. Also, you may have a headache and paralysis of one side of the body.
4- Left atrium enlargement:
You may have cough and dyspnea due to lung compression by the enlarged left atrium. Also, an enlarged left atrium compresses the esophagus and left recurrent laryngeal nerve, causing dysphagia and hoarseness of voice.
5-Infective endocarditis:
It is inflammation of your heart valves due to infection. Infective endocarditis occurs in all valves, but it is rare with mitral stenosis. You may have a fever, pallor, night sweat, fatigue, weight loss, and enlarged tender spleen. Also, you may notice blood in your urine and swelling on your legs.
