Rheumatic heart disease, also called rheumatic fever, occurs when an untreated strep throat infection migrates to the joints and heart, causing fever, muscle aches, and possible permanent heart valve damage.  Just as “rheumatism” refers to joint pain, “rheumatic” fever gets its name because one of its main symptoms is actually pain in the joints rather than the heart. 

The National Institute of Health estimate that rheumatic heart disease develops in about 3% of untreated strep throat infections in the United States. Because mainly young people get strep, accordingly rheumatic heart disease mostly strikes people aged between six and fifteen years old.

Reversing heart disease can be done by adopting a few lifestyle changes.  By avoiding certain risk factors that put you in harm’s way of the disease to begin with, you can turn back the clock, so to speak, and continue to live a long, healthy life despite having a heart disease.

There are many different kinds of heart disease, but one of the factors that leads to most heart disease is a blockage to the arteries that feed blood to the heart.  When the heart no longer gets a fresh supply of blood, it can die, and the result is a heart attack.  By unclogging these arteries, you are essentially reversing heart disease and, therefore, healing your heart.

How You Can Reverse Heart Disease

Diets high in saturated fats and cholesterol can contribute to the blockage that causes most diseases of the heart.  Reversing heart disease can be as simple as cleaning up your diet, by eating more fruits and vegetables, foods with a higher fiber content, and staying away from foods with too much saturated fat.  By changing to a cleaner diet, you are one step closer to reversing a heart disease that has already claimed so many lives.

Another technique that works in reversing heart disease is getting more exercise.  When you exercise, you increase your cardiovascular health, and your heart begins to work better.  Exercise can be had anywhere, anytime, simply walk instead of drive your car, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or just walk around the block every night after dinner.