Rheumatic Heart Disease Treatment
Once a child gets rheumatic heart disease from a strep infection, they may have to take antibiotics for decades to prevent a recurrence that can cause more damage to their heart valves.
If your child has a damaged heart valve that leaks enough or is narrow enough to strain or enlarge their heart, they may need surgery to repair the valve. Sometimes, if the valve is too narrow, a balloon catheter procedure (balloon valvuloplasty) may be used to try to open the valve without surgery. However, in many cases, the valve cannot be opened with a balloon procedure, and a child needs surgery to replace their valve with an artificial one.