Comprehensive Symptom Navigator

Rheumatic Heart Disease

Specialty: Pediatrics

Sub-category: Acquired Cardiovascular Disorders

Symptoms:
fatigue; shortness of breath; chest pain; heart palpitations; swollen joints; fever; unexplained weight loss; skin nodules or rash

Root Cause:
Chronic valvular damage caused by recurrent episodes of acute rheumatic fever, an autoimmune response to group A streptococcal infections (e.g., strep throat).

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Echocardiography to detect valvular damage, clinical criteria (Jones criteria), history of streptococcal infection, elevated inflammatory markers (CRP, ESR), and antistreptolysin O (ASO) titers.

Treatment:
Long-term antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent recurrence (e.g., benzathine penicillin G), management of heart failure with medications, and surgical valve repair or replacement in severe cases.

Medications:
Antibiotics (e.g., benzathine penicillin G) - To eradicate streptococcal infection and prevent recurrent rheumatic fever. Diuretics (e.g., furosemide ) - To manage fluid retention in heart failure. Beta-blockers (e.g., metoprolol ) - For arrhythmias or heart failure. Anticoagulants (e.g., warfarin ) - For atrial fibrillation or prosthetic valves to prevent thromboembolism.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common in low- and middle-income countries, affecting 15-20 million people worldwide. It primarily affects children aged 5-15 years.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Untreated or recurrent streptococcal infections, poor socioeconomic conditions, overcrowding, limited access to medical care.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
With appropriate treatment and preventive care, progression can be controlled, but severe cases may require lifelong management. Without treatment, it can lead to heart failure and premature death.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Heart failure, atrial fibrillation, infective endocarditis, stroke, and permanent disability due to valvular damage.

Pericarditis

Specialty: Cardiovascular

Category: Heart Diseases

Sub-category: Inflammatory and Infectious Heart Diseases

Symptoms:
sharp chest pain (often relieved by sitting forward); fever; shortness of breath; heart palpitations; pericardial friction rub (a specific heart sound)

Root Cause:
Inflammation of the pericardium (the sac surrounding the heart), often due to viral infections, autoimmune disorders, or post-cardiac injury syndrome.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Diagnosed based on clinical symptoms (e.g., chest pain relieved by sitting up), ECG changes (e.g., diffuse ST elevation), imaging such as echocardiography to detect pericardial effusion, and blood tests for inflammation markers.

Treatment:
Treatment typically includes nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), colchicine, and corticosteroids in severe or recurrent cases, along with addressing any underlying infections or conditions.

Medications:
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, e.g., ibuprofen ), colchicine (to reduce inflammation and recurrence), and corticosteroids (for autoimmune-related pericarditis). Antibiotics are used for bacterial pericarditis.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Approximately 27 cases per 100,000 people annually.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Viral or bacterial infections; autoimmune diseases; recent heart attack; chest trauma or surgery

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Often resolves with treatment, but recurrent or chronic pericarditis may occur. Rarely progresses to constrictive pericarditis or cardiac tamponade.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Cardiac tamponade (fluid buildup compressing the heart); chronic constrictive pericarditis; recurrence of pericarditis

Ebstein’s Anomaly

Specialty: Cardiovascular

Category: Heart Diseases

Sub-category: Congenital Heart Diseases

Symptoms:
cyanosis; shortness of breath; heart palpitations; fatigue; heart murmur; swelling in the legs or abdomen

Root Cause:
Malformation of the tricuspid valve, which is displaced downward into the right ventricle, causing abnormal blood flow and heart function.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Echocardiogram, chest X-ray, ECG, or cardiac MRI.

Treatment:
Observation for mild cases, surgical repair or valve replacement for severe cases, and arrhythmia management with medication or catheter ablation.

Medications:
Antiarrhythmic drugs (e.g., amiodarone or sotalol ) to manage arrhythmias; diuretics to manage fluid retention.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Rare, occurring in about 1 in 20,000 live births.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Maternal lithium use during pregnancy, genetic predisposition.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Varies depending on severity; mild cases may have a near-normal life expectancy, while severe cases require surgical intervention.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Heart failure, arrhythmias, stroke, infective endocarditis.

Premature Atrial Contractions (PACs)

Specialty: Cardiovascular

Category: Heart Diseases

Sub-category: Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disorders)

Symptoms:
heart palpitations; irregular heartbeat; skipped beats; mild chest discomfort; anxiety

Root Cause:
Early electrical impulses in the atria disrupt the normal heart rhythm.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG), Holter monitor, or event monitor.

Treatment:
Usually benign and requires no treatment; lifestyle changes or beta-blockers for symptomatic cases.

Medications:
Beta-blockers (e.g., metoprolol ) are sometimes used to reduce symptoms in symptomatic patients.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common and often asymptomatic; prevalence increases with age and in individuals with heart disease.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Stress, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, electrolyte imbalances, and structural heart disease.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Benign in most cases but may precede more significant arrhythmias like AFib.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Rare; may progress to atrial fibrillation or cause significant symptoms in predisposed individuals.

Carcinoid Syndrome

Specialty: Diabetes and Endocrinology

Category: Rare Endocrine Disorders

Symptoms:
flushing of the skin; diarrhea; abdominal cramping; heart palpitations; shortness of breath; wheezing; weight loss; skin lesions; edema; carcinoid heart disease (in advanced cases)

Root Cause:
Excessive secretion of serotonin and other vasoactive substances by carcinoid tumors, usually arising in the gastrointestinal tract or lungs.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Diagnosed through elevated 24-hour urinary 5-HIAA levels and imaging to locate neuroendocrine tumors.

Treatment:
Treatment includes somatostatin analogs (e.g., octreotide), symptom control, and surgical resection or targeted therapies for tumor management.

Medications:
Somatostatin analogs (e.g., octreotide or lanreotide )

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Rare; affects approximately 1-2 individuals per 100,000 annually.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Family history of neuroendocrine tumors, conditions like MEN1 syndrome, smoking, and previous cancer diagnoses.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Variable depending on the extent of disease; with localized tumors, 5-year survival exceeds 80%, but metastatic disease lowers survival rates to approximately 30%-50%.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Carcinoid heart disease (fibrotic damage to heart valves). Intestinal obstruction or bleeding from primary tumors. Severe malnutrition due to chronic diarrhea. Hormone crisis during tumor manipulation or anesthesia.

Neuroendocrine Tumors (NETs)

Specialty: Oncology

Category: Sarcomas

Sub-category: Rare Cancers

Symptoms:
abdominal pain; diarrhea; flushing; wheezing; fatigue; unexplained weight loss; heart palpitations; skin rashes

Root Cause:
Neuroendocrine tumors are cancers that develop from neuroendocrine cells, which have characteristics of both nerve cells and hormone-producing cells. These tumors can occur in various parts of the body, most commonly the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, and lungs. They can secrete hormones, leading to symptoms like flushing and diarrhea.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Diagnosis is through imaging techniques such as CT scans, MRIs, or PET scans to locate the tumor, blood tests for elevated hormone levels (e.g., chromogranin A, serotonin), and biopsy for histological confirmation.

Treatment:
Treatment often involves surgical resection of the tumor, if localized, and medications such as somatostatin analogs (e.g., octreotide or lanreotide) to manage symptoms. Chemotherapy and targeted therapies (e.g., everolimus, sunitinib) may be used for advanced or metastatic disease. In some cases, liver-directed treatments (like embolization) or peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) are used for metastases.

Medications:
Somatostatin analogs like octreotide and lanreotide help control the symptoms and reduce hormone secretion. These are classified as peptide receptor drugs. For advanced NETs, chemotherapy agents like temozolomide or streptozocin (alkylating agents) and targeted therapies like everolimus (an mTOR inhibitor) and sunitinib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor) may be used.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
The incidence of NETs has been increasing, with an estimated prevalence of around 2-3 cases per 100,000 individuals per year. NETs are rare but more common in older adults, with gastrointestinal and pancreatic NETs being the most frequent.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Risk factors include age (more common in people over 50), a family history of NETs, genetic conditions like multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, and neurofibromatosis type 1.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Prognosis varies based on tumor type, location, and stage at diagnosis. For localized NETs, the 5-year survival rate is generally favorable (70-80%), while advanced or metastatic NETs have a lower survival rate (around 30-40%).

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Complications include metastasis to the liver or other organs, carcinoid syndrome (which includes symptoms like flushing, diarrhea, and heart valve issues), hormonal imbalances, and malabsorption due to gastrointestinal involvement.

Transfusion-Induced Iron Overload

Specialty: Hematology

Category: Red Blood Cells and Disorders

Symptoms:
fatigue; joint pain; darkened skin; abdominal pain; heart palpitations; shortness of breath

Root Cause:
Repeated blood transfusions lead to excessive iron accumulation in tissues, as the body cannot excrete the excess iron.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Serum ferritin levels, transferrin saturation, liver MRI to assess iron deposition, and liver biopsy in certain cases.

Treatment:
Iron chelation therapy to remove excess iron and minimize organ damage. Lifestyle modifications, such as reducing dietary iron intake.

Medications:
Deferoxamine (parenteral), deferasirox (oral), and deferiprone (oral). These are classified as iron chelators.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common in patients receiving chronic transfusions for conditions such as thalassemia, sickle cell disease, and myelodysplastic syndromes.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Frequent blood transfusions, hereditary hemochromatosis, ineffective erythropoiesis.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Good with early detection and treatment, but untreated cases can lead to significant organ damage.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Organ damage (heart, liver, pancreas), diabetes, cirrhosis, and heart failure.