The Causes Of Rheumatic Heart Disease In The Light Of Recent Findings

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It is an established fact that strep throat infection is the leading cause of rheumatic fever which is the causative factor for the life-threatening rheumatic heart disease. Rheumatic fever still tops the list of the causes of rheumatic heart disease. The streptococci become culprit once the throat infection is left without medical treatment. The infection spreads to the heart which can cause its inflammation and further damages heart tissues and valves.

What recent findings are there about the rheumatic heart disease? Are there new information or findings on the causes of rheumatic heart disease which are worthy to take note of? In the light of the recent findings related to the causes, here are some you may find interesting:

1. It has been affirmed that not all sore throats lead to rheumatic fever; a mere five-percent does. Rheumatic fever may also be a result of other causal factors. Viruses and other bacteria may also precipitate the disease. The disease may also be triggered by leukemia, malarial infection and malignant lymphoma.

2. It has been validated that not all strains of Streptococcus pyogenes can trigger all these body reactions which progresses in the life-damaging rheumatic heart disease.

3. These bacterial strains of streptococci are now known to carry a special protein sequence called PARF or Peptide Associated with Rheumatic Fever. These are generally located on the surface or membranes of bacteria for easy recognition.

4. PARF functions in attaching the strep bacteria to the host cells to begin the invasion or infection process. Without any medical intervention, PARF can be confused and attach to the collagen found in skin, cartilages, blood vessels and heart valves and thus damage these instead. The infection of the heart is easiest by virtue of its location which is very near the source of infection- the throat.

5. The attachment of PARF to the collagen also confuses the body’s immune system. The immune system then start working against the body’s healthy cells and not the strep infected cells. It is now a recognized fact that it is PARF’s and the immune system’s mistaken identification of the infected cells make up the principal causes of rheumatic heart disease.

6. These information is now prompting science towards the development of a fast and efficient method to immediately detect the presence of PARF to determine early if the strep belongs to the dreaded strain.

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