Rheumatic heart disease etiology

Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
Updated on September 11, 2024
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Rheumatic heart disease is a type of organic heart disease, often caused by an abnormal immune response following a streptococcal infection, which affects the heart valves, resulting in valvular lesions, leading to stenosis or insufficiency, and posing significant risks to human health, severely impacting physical well-being. To prevent the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease, it is essential to actively control streptococcal infections, commonly including tonsillitis and upper respiratory tract infections. When a streptococcal infection occurs, effective antibiotics should be actively used to control the infection and reduce the incidence of rheumatic heart disease.

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Can heart disease be inherited?

Whether heart disease is hereditary depends on the specific type of heart disease. Some heart conditions are hereditary diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is an autosomal dominant inherited disease and can be inherited. Some heart diseases are related to genetics, such as coronary heart disease and dilated cardiomyopathy. These genetically related diseases significantly increase the risk of their offspring developing these conditions, but it does not necessarily mean that they will develop the disease, as environmental factors also play a crucial role. Of course, some heart diseases are not genetic, such as most congenital heart diseases, heart valve diseases, infective endocarditis, and myocarditis, which are not related to genetics.

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What is heart disease?

Heart disease is caused by various factors that invade the heart, resulting in the loss of its normal physiological functions. Common causes of heart disease include rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, viral myocarditis, coronary artery disease, and pulmonary heart disease. These diseases are considered organic heart diseases, caused by various reasons that lead to pathological changes in the heart's muscles, valves, etc., losing the heart's normal ability to pump blood and supply the body with blood.

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How do you get heart disease?

There are many causes of heart disease, the most common being coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, which is due to long-term hyperlipidemia leading to arteriosclerosis. After the coronary arteries harden, the lumen narrows, resulting in insufficient myocardial blood supply and the onset of coronary heart disease. Rheumatic heart disease occurs when the body is infected with streptococcus and does not receive adequate treatment, leading to an abnormal immune response that attacks the heart valves, causing valve damage. Pulmonary heart disease is caused by long-term insufficient ventilation leading to emphysema, and pulmonary hypertension increases the resistance on the heart, causing right ventricular hypertrophy.

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Can people with heart disease drink alcohol?

Patients with heart disease should not consume alcohol, especially those with severe heart conditions such as coronary heart disease, severe arrhythmias, and viral myocarditis. These patients especially should avoid alcohol as they need to use many medications during treatment. If they consume alcohol, the alcohol entering the body can chemically interact with some medications, leading to reduced efficacy, diminished effects, or causing side effects. Additionally, for these heart disease patients, consuming alcohol can increase the burden on the heart and exacerbate symptoms of heart disease.

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What foods should people with heart disease eat?

Patients with heart disease should adopt a diet that is low in fat, salt, and oil in their daily lives, and they should try to eat more fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamins, trace elements, and dietary fiber. They can frequently eat foods such as sea cucumber, eggs, milk, beef tendon, lean meat, rabbit meat, belt fish, yellow croaker, shrimp, and others that contain a good amount of high-quality protein needed by the human body, and have lower cholesterol. Continuous consumption over time can enhance the body's immunity and disease resistance.