My 8 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with Rheumatic fever as a result of undetected strep throat. She went to the cardiologist and we found out she has mild to mild plus mitral valve regurgitation. I would like to know if anyone else out there has experienced this?

Unfortunately a rheumatic fever is a common side effect of a strep throat - either undected or not properly treated with antibiotics.
The pathogen (the bacterium "streptococcus viridans") travels from the throat to the heart (using the blood as carrier). Within the heart the bacteria inflame its inner layer the Endocard, resulting in a endocarditis.
Since the heart valves themselves are covered by the endocard, they get inflamed too. The most common outcome of a rheutatic fever (rheumatoid endocarditis) therefore is a damage of one or more heart valves.
Other than that, the thick muscle layer of the the heart (myocard) or the whole heart can become inflamed as a result of the bacterial infection.

Other parts of the body like the skin and joints can be affected too.

Therapy: Antibiotics (usually Penicillin) in high dosage right away
later, until the age of 20-25 low dose penicillin before each
invasive operation (even tooth extraction).

I hope I could answer some of your questions, please feel free to ask if you have some more !

John Carter

PS: My sister was still logged in - when I did this post - thats why sarah11-20 appears as author - sorry about any confusions.