Rheumatic Fever

Treatment

Mayo Clinic specialists have extensive experience treating children with rheumatic fever. Mayo physicians were pioneers in the field of heart disease in children and established Mayo Clinic as a center for the diagnosis and surgical treatment of many heart defects. Our team of medical experts include pediatric cardiologists, pediatricians and social workers who help families adjust to the unique challenges of living with a child who has a heart condition.

Children needing hospitalization are cared for at Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital.

Management of rheumatic fever is determined by the child's treatment team based on:

• The child's age, overall health and medical history
• The extent of the condition
• The child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures or therapies
• Expectations for the course of the condition
• The parent's opinion or preference

There is no cure for rheumatic fever. The primary goal is to prevent rheumatic fever by treating a strep infection with the appropriate antibiotics.

Children with rheumatic fever are often treated in the hospital, depending on the severity of the disease. Treatment for rheumatic fever can involve the following approaches:

Treatment Options

Treatment for streptococcus infection
The first goal is to treat the primary strep infection with antibiotics.

Anti-inflammatory medications
Based on the severity of the condition, medications may be prescribed to help decrease the swelling that occurs in the heart muscle, as well as to relieve joint pain. For severe heart inflammation, a corticosteroid, such as prednisone, can reduce the inflammation.

Bed rest
Some children require bed rest to recover from rheumatic fever. The length of bed rest depends on the severity of the disease and the involvement of the heart and joints.

Surgical procedures
In some patients, rheumatic fever damages a heart valve. Repairing this problem can often be delayed for many years. The physician may recommend expanding the narrowed mitral valve with a balloon catheter procedure or replacing it with another valve in surgery.

Lifelong therapy
Children who have had rheumatic fever may need lifelong treatment with antibiotics to prevent further attacks, and will usually have to take preventive antibiotics before surgery or dental procedures, if they have long-lasting valve problems. The antibiotics help decrease the chance of infection in the heart valves related to a procedure such as dental work.