What are the symptoms of Rheumatic Fever ?
What are the signs and symptoms of Rheumatic Fever? Rheumatic fever is primarily diagnosed in children between the ages of 6 and 16 and can affect many different systems of the body, including the heart, joints, nervous system and/or skin. The condition usually develops approximately 14-28 days after infection with group A Streptococcus bacteria, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Early signs and symptoms may include sore throat; swollen red tonsils; fever; headache; and/or muscle aches. Affected people may also experience: Abdominal pain Rheumatic heart disease Joint pain and/or swelling Nosebleeds Skin nodules (painless, firm, round lumps underneath the skin) Skin rash Sydenham chorea (abrupt, non-repetitive limb movements and grimaces) People with a history of rheumatic fever have a high risk of developing recurrent episodes of the condition. This can cause progressive (worsening over time) heart damage. The Human Phenotype Ontology provides the following list of signs and symptoms for Rheumatic Fever. If the information is available, the table below includes how often the symptom is seen in people with this condition. You can use the MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary to look up the definitions for these medical terms. Signs and Symptoms Approximate number of patients (when available) Abnormality of temperature regulation 90% Anorexia 90% Arthritis 90% Hypermelanotic macule 90% Nausea and vomiting 90% Recurrent pharyngitis 90% Abdominal pain 50% Abnormality of the aortic valve 50% Abnormality of the endocardium 50% Abnormality of the mitral valve 50% Abnormality of the myocardium 50% Arrhythmia 50% Arthralgia 50% Chest pain 50% Chorea 50% Pallor 50% Sinusitis 50% Abnormality of the pericardium 7.5% Abnormality of the pleura 7.5% Aplasia/Hypoplasia of the abdominal wall musculature 7.5% Behavioral abnormality 7.5% Constipation 7.5% Epistaxis 7.5% Gait disturbance 7.5% Hemiballismus 7.5% Migraine 7.5% Nephrotic syndrome 7.5% Neurological speech impairment 7.5% Respiratory insufficiency 7.5% Abnormality of the immune system - Fever - The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) has collected information on how often a sign or symptom occurs in a condition. Much of this information comes from Orphanet, a European rare disease database. The frequency of a sign or symptom is usually listed as a rough estimate of the percentage of patients who have that feature. The frequency may also be listed as a fraction. The first number of the fraction is how many people had the symptom, and the second number is the total number of people who were examined in one study. For example, a frequency of 25/25 means that in a study of 25 people all patients were found to have that symptom. Because these frequencies are based on a specific study, the fractions may be different if another group of patients are examined. Sometimes, no information on frequency is available. In these cases, the sign or symptom may be rare or common.