recurring rhuematic fever...

Posted By vanessa on June 10, 1998 at 14:10:14:







i am a 27 year old female. i had rhuematic fever the first time when i was
approx 14 years old. i slept through most of it, for about two weeks.
a few years later an echo was done and my father was told all looked fine
but as an adult i have the original report and it mentions a "hiccup" in the
lower left lobe.
when i was 20 and 6 months pregnant, i was hospitalized and diagnosed again
with rheumatic fever and endocarditis. i was hospitalized and given intensive
drug therapies for about two weeks.
three years later when i was pregnant with my second child the ob/gyn ordered
an echo just to be sure all was well. i had developed a defined murmur and
there was still "noticeable, but not signifigant vegetation" on my heart. i
was put on a 24 hour monitor and told that everything was ok, but a mvp had
developed however it was minor.
two years after that i went to work as a preschool teacher in the late fall
and worked with toddlers. within two or three weeks i became very ill and
was again diagnosed with rhuematic fever. my physician says it is very uncommon
for so many repeat episodes but that it isnt totally unheard of.
sine then i have develpoed pvc's also. my heart rate is very rapid (120
average) and my cardiologist says it is hyper-sensitive to adrenaline.
he recommends i take tenormin but i have heard so many times that the long
term affects of tenormin can be more devastating that it is worth. how
unusual is this constant reoccurance of heart "infections"? and what
can be done to prevent them? i am just concerned because with each and
every bout with rhuematic fever a little more damage is done.
and now my mvp is showing regurgitation. will this keep progressively
getting worse too?
thank you for your time and any assistance you can give me.