What causes rheumatic fever? Rheumatic fever is not an infection itself, but rather the result of an untreated strep infection. When your body senses the strep infection, it sends antibodies to fight it. Sometimes, these antibodies attack the tissues of your joints or heart instead. If the antibodies attack your heart, they can cause your heart valves to swell, which can lead to scarring of the valve "doors" (called leaflets or cusps). Who is at risk for rheumatic fever? Fewer than 0.3% of people who have strep throat also get rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is most common among children aged 5 to 15, but adults may have the condition as well. Doctors think that a weakened immune system may make some people more likely to get rheumatic fever. And, although antibiotic medicines have reduced the number of cases of rheumatic fever in developed countries, there are still thousands of reported cases. What are the symptoms of rheumatic fever and how is it diagnosed? Symptoms of rheumatic fever usually begin 1 to 6 weeks after you have had a strep infection. They are Fever Joint pain or swelling in your wrists, elbows, knees, or ankles Small bumps under the skin over your elbows or knees (called nodules) A raised, red rash on your chest, back, or stomach Stomach pain or feeling less hungry Weakness, shortness of breath, or feeling very tired Your doctor will begin by doing a throat culture to find out if you have a strep infection. Then, your doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to your heart. He or she will also look for nodules on your joints. Sometimes, blood tests, chest x-rays, or an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) may be needed for a more definite diagnosis. How is rheumatic fever treated? Rheumatic fever must be treated right away. If you have a sore throat that lasts longer than 3 days, or if you have a fever and headache along with your sore throat, you should see your doctor for a throat culture. Even if you do not have a sore throat but have a fever and a skin rash, this could also mean a strep infection, and you should get tested. Remember rheumatic fever can result from an untreated strep infection, so it is very important to treat the infection before it leads to a worse condition.

The inflatable penile prosthesis consists of two attached cylinders -- a reservoir and a pump -- which are placed surgically in the body. The two cylinders are inserted in the penis and connected by tubing to a separate reservoir of saline. The reservoir is implanted under the rectus muscles in the lower abdomen. The Coloplast Titan Touch inflatable penile prosthesis is a self-contained, fluid-filled system made from Bioflex and silicone.

Before the angioplasty procedure begins, you will receive some pain medicine. You may also be given medicine that relaxes you, and blood thinning medicines to prevent a blood clot from forming. You will lie on a padded table. Your doctor will insert a flexible tube (catheter) through a surgical cut into an artery. Sometimes the catheter will be placed in your arm or wrist, or in your upper leg or groin area. You will be awake during the procedure. The doctor will use live x-ray pictures to carefully guide the catheter up into your heart and arteries. Dye will be injected into your body to highlight blood flow through the arteries. This helps the doctor see any blockages in the blood vessels that lead to your heart. A guide wire is moved into and across the blockage. A balloon catheter is pushed over the guide wire and into the blockage. The balloon on the end is blown up (inflated). This opens the blocked vessel and restores proper blood flow to the heart. A wire mesh tube (stent) may then be placed in this blocked area. The stent is inserted along with the balloon catheter. It expands when the balloon is inflated. The stent is left there to help keep the artery open

The first operation is harvesting the heart from the donor. The donor is usually an unfortunate person who has suffered irreversible brain injury, called "brain death". Very often these are patients who have had major trauma to the head, for example, in an automobile accident. The victim's organs, other than the brain, are working well with the help of medications and other "life support" that may include a respirator or other devices. A team of physicians, nurses, and technicians goes to the hospital of the donor to remove donated organs once brain death of the donor has been determined. The removed organs are transported on ice to keep them alive until they can be implanted. For the heart, this is optimally less than six hours. So, the organs are often flown by airplane or helicopter to the recipient's hospital.

If you have multiple sclerosis (MS), you probably had several tests done before you received your diagnosis. There isn’t one test to diagnosis MS, so testing can vary. Doctors can use neurological exams, information about previous symptoms, blood tests, and spinal fluid tests. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan isn’t used to diagnose MS but rather to rule out other diseases. A diagnosis of MS requires more information than what a scan alone can give. By looking at more than one test or exam result, doctors can get a clearer picture of what’s going on in your body.

A subdural hematoma is most often the result of a severe head injury. This type of subdural hematoma is among the deadliest of all head injuries. The bleeding fills the brain area very rapidly, compressing brain tissue. This often results in brain injury and may lead to death. Subdural hematomas can also occur after a minor head injury. The amount of bleeding is smaller and occurs more slowly. This type of subdural hematoma is often seen in older adults. These may go unnoticed for many days to weeks, and are called chronic subdural hematomas. With any subdural hematoma, tiny veins between the surface of the brain and its outer covering (the dura) stretch and tear, allowing blood to collect. In older adults, the veins are often already stretched because of brain shrinkage (atrophy) and are more easily injured.

A pancreas transplant is a surgical procedure to place a healthy pancreas from a deceased donor into a person whose pancreas no longer functions properly. Your pancreas is an organ that lies behind the lower part of your stomach. One of its main functions is to make insulin, a hormone that regulates the absorption of sugar (glucose) into your cells. If your pancreas doesn't make enough insulin, blood sugar levels can rise to unhealthy levels, resulting in type 1 diabetes. Most pancreas transplants are done to treat type 1 diabetes. A pancreas transplant offers a potential cure for this condition. But it is typically reserved for those with serious diabetes complications, because the side effects of a pancreas transplant are significant. In some cases, pancreas transplants may also treat type 2 diabetes. Rarely, pancreas transplants may be used in the treatment of pancreatic, bile duct or other cancers. A pancreas transplant is often done in conjunction with a kidney transplant in people whose kidneys have been

An egg cannot be fertilized when there are no sperm in the semen. The testicles continue to produce sperm, but the sperm are reabsorbed by the body. (This also happens to sperm that are not ejaculated after a while, regardless of whether you have had a vasectomy.) Sperm are made in the testicles. They pass through two tubes called the vasa deferentia to other glands and mix with seminal fluids to form semen. Vasectomy blocks each vas deferens and keeps sperm out of the seminal fluid. The sperm are absorbed by the body instead of being ejaculated.

Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in your lungs and the right side of your heart. In one form of pulmonary hypertension, tiny arteries in your lungs, called pulmonary arterioles, and capillaries become narrowed, blocked or destroyed. This makes it harder for blood to flow through your lungs, and raises pressure within your lungs' arteries. As the pressure builds, your heart's lower right chamber (right ventricle) must work harder to pump blood through your lungs, eventually causing your heart muscle to weaken and fail. Some forms of pulmonary hypertension are serious conditions that become progressively worse and are sometimes fatal. Although some forms of pulmonary hypertension aren't curable, treatment can help lessen symptoms and improve your quality of life. Pulmonary hypertension care at Mayo Clinic

an incision made on the back of the lower leg starting just above the heel bone. After the surgeon finds the two ends of the ruptured tendon, these ends are sewn together with sutures. The incision is then closed. Another repair method makes a small incision on the back of the lower leg at the site of the rupture.

Aplastic anemia is a hematopoietic disorder caused due to T lymphocyte mediated destruction of stem cells resulting in pancytopenia with a cellular bone marrow and normal cell cytogenetics. The causes of aplastic anaemia may be inherited or acquired. The causes and the diagnostic approach, along with spectrum of severity of this disorder is discussed in this presentation. A detailed discussion of the management options, along with pharmacological therapy and supportive therapy in these cases is also discussed. The treatment options include, in addition to a stem cell transplant, anti-thymocyte globulin, cyclosporine, methyprednisolone and eltrombopag (for patients who have failed treatment on combined modality therapy with ATG and cyclosporine)

A ventricular septal defect (VSD), a hole in the heart, is a common heart defect that's present at birth (congenital). The hole occurs in the wall that separates the heart's lower chambers (septum) and allows blood to pass from the left to the right side of the heart. The oxygen-rich blood then gets pumped back to the lungs instead of out to the body, causing the heart to work harder. A small ventricular septal defect may cause no problems, and many small VSDs close on their own. Larger VSDs need surgical repair early in life to prevent complications.

What is Esophageal Dilation?Esophageal dilation is a procedure that allows your doctor to dilate, or stretch, a narrowed area of your esophagus [swallowing tube]. Doctors can use various techniques for this procedure. Your doctor might perform the procedure as part of a sedated endoscopy. Alternatively, your doctor might apply a local anesthetic spray to the back of your throat and then pass a weighted dilator through your mouth and into your esophagus. Why is it Done? The most common cause of narrowing of the esophagus, or stricture, is scarring of the esophagus from reflux of acid occurring in patients with heartburn.

Gastrostomy tube is placed when a patient is not able to eat on his/her own as a result of neurological or other dysfunction. There are many different types of gastrostomy tubes but in general there are two bigger categories. The classic one and the low profile one. The gastroplexy technique is used preferably to avoid accidental pulling of the gastrostomy tube from an agitated or confused patient.

Comprehensive physical examination

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multisystem disease affecting the digestive system, sweat glands, upper and lower respiratory tracts, and the reproductive tract, but progressive lung disease continues to be the major cause of morbidity and mortality [1]. CF is characterized by abnormal transport of chloride and sodium across the respiratory epithelium, resulting in thickened, viscous airway secretions [2]. Over a highly variable time course ranging from months to decades after birth, individuals eventually develop chronic infection of the respiratory tract with a characteristic array of bacterial flora [3], leading to progressive respiratory insufficiency and eventual respiratory failure. The rate of progression varies widely, depending in part on genotype (including gene modifiers) as well as environmental factors. Registry data from CF Centers in the United States, Canada, and Europe indicate a median survival of about 41 years [4]. Females with CF appear to have higher morbidity and mortality than males [5]. This "gender gap" is modest but consistent across many populations and is hypothesized to be due to the pro-inflammatory effects of estrogens.

In caring for patients who are critically ill, access to the central venous circulation is important. Central venous access allows the placement of various types of intravenous (IV) lines to facilitate the infusion of fluids, blood products, and drugs and to obtain blood for laboratory analysis. It is also an essential procedure in patients in whom placement of a line in a peripheral vein is impossible. A central line may be the only means of venous access in such cases.

A spinal tumor is a growth that develops within your spinal canal or within the bones of your spine. It may be cancerous or noncancerous. Tumors that affect the bones of the spine (vertebrae) are known as vertebral tumors. Tumors that begin within the spinal cord itself are called spinal cord tumors. There are two main types of tumors that may affect the spinal cord: Intramedullary tumors begin in the cells within the spinal cord itself, such as astrocytomas or ependymomas. Extramedullary tumors develop within the supporting network of cells around the spinal cord. Although they don't begin within the spinal cord itself, these types of tumors may affect spinal cord function by causing spinal cord compression and other problems. Examples of extramedullary tumors that can affect the spinal cord include schwannomas, meningiomas and neurofibromas.

What Causes Chest Pain ?