rheumatic fever

noun

: an acute disease that occurs chiefly in children and adolescents following inadequately treated Group A streptococcal infection of the upper respiratory tract (such as in strep throat) and is characterized by fever, by inflammation and pain in and around the joints, and by inflammatory involvement of the pericardium and heart valves

Examples of rheumatic fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Left untreated, strep can turn into the full-body infection known as rheumatic fever, and the bacteria can then damage the heart. Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 28 Feb. 2023 This is a menace of many masks — among them strep throat, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, toxic shock syndrome and flesh-eating disease. Christian Millman, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2018 Wracked by chronic asthmatic bronchitis and rheumatic fever, he was forced to spend entire winters indoors. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 22 June 2023 Sydenham chorea was like rheumatic fever of the brain, thought to occur when rheumatic fever progresses and strep antibodies (emboldened by fever) breaches the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the tight wall of endothelial cells ordinarily there to protect the brain from the outside world. Pamela Weintraub, Discover Magazine, 3 Jan. 2019 The family soon moved to Portland, Ore., where a young Dr. Berendzen struggled with rheumatic fever and asthma. Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2023 At 3, Milton survived a bout with rheumatic fever but complications from the condition left him with an accelerated heartbeat. Joshua Needelman, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2023 Founder Peter McLane Grant Jr. contracted malaria and rheumatic fever in the jungles of the South Pacific while serving in the military in World War II. Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 31 May 2022 As for dire consequences, consider this: Before penicillin and other antibiotics came of age in the 1940s and 1950s, rat-bite fever killed 10 to 15 per cent of its victims, inflicting special woe on people who had previously suffered rheumatic fever followed by cardiac damage. Claire Panosian Dunavan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rheumatic fever.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1726, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rheumatic fever was in 1726

Dictionary Entries Near rheumatic fever

Cite this Entry

“Rheumatic fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rheumatic%20fever. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rheumatic fever

noun
: a disease especially of young people that is characterized by fever, by inflammation and pain in and around the joints, and by inflammation of the membranes surrounding the heart and the heart valves

Medical Definition

rheumatic fever

noun
: an acute often recurrent disease that occurs chiefly in children and adolescents following Group A streptococcal infection of the upper respiratory tract (as in strep throat) and is characterized by fever, inflammation, pain, and swelling in and around the joints, inflammatory involvement of the pericardium and valves of the heart, and often the formation of small nodules chiefly in the subcutaneous tissues and the heart

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