Rheumatic carditis Latent

From Latin this name is translated as “hidden”. This is a condition in which inflammation of the heart tissue in the early stages of the disease is asymptomatic. It is quite difficult to recognize it, since the clinical picture is often absent.

Typically, latency is characteristic of hidden rheumatic valve defects or latent endocarditis. Without timely treatment, complications are possible in the form of the development of constrictive pericarditis, the formation of aortic regurgitation and chronic heart failure.

Latent inflammation manifests itself mainly with minor signs and mild symptoms. Typically, patients do not attach any importance to them, attributing the ailment to stress or an exacerbation of chronic diseases. This is the great danger of the pathology: in the acute phase, the complication often causes sudden death. For this reason, pathology often becomes the cause of diagnostic error, especially against the background of secondary factors that cause the development of inflammation in the tissues of the heart.

Latent forms of rheumatism are rarely identified due to their nonspecificity. Only a careful analysis of patient complaints leads to a diagnosis. Patients complain of weakness, increased fatigue, arrhythmias, which are not perceived by the patient as a problem. Heart rhythm disturbances often occur: half of the patients experience ventricular arrhythmias, leading to stroke and severe cardiac complications.

There are also vegetative manifestations: pain in the chest, fainting, malaise, excessive sweating, low-grade fever. Patients often feel overwhelmed; attacks of tachycardia and increased blood pressure are common. Frequent cases -