Treating rheumatic heart disease

All patients with rheumatic heart disease should visit the local health service regularly for various checkups and tests. All people with rheumatic heart disease should be on a care plan. A care plan is written by a health worker, nurse and doctor with lots of discussion with the patient. The care plan will assist the health staff and you know how often you need to attend the health service for reviews and tests such as:

• penicillin needles to prevent further episodes of acute rheumatic fever
• dental check ups
• a test to check the health of the valves in your heart (called echocardiography or ‘echo’)
• checkups with an Indigenous health worker
• checkups with a nurse
• checkups with a doctor
• checkups with a specialist doctor, such as a paediatrician, physician or cardiologist

Some patients who have more sever rheumatic heart disease may also need:

• surgery to repair or replace the heart valves
• anti-coagulant medications and blood tests to ensure the anti-coagulant medications are at the correct level in the blood

It is important to remember, preventing episodes of acute rheumatic fever can prevent rheumatic hearts disease. Once a person has rheumatic heart disease this will stay with them for the rest of their life.

Further episodes of acute rheumatic fever will make rheumatic heart disease worse and may require heart valve surgery to prevent the person from dying. Once a person has surgery they need to ensure they don’t get any more episodes of rheumatic fever as their heart will be quite fragile. Antibiotic needles will be required for more years, frequent checkups, and some people will require other medications to keep them healthy. It is very import, however the local health service is there to help.