Final answer:
Rheumatic fever can lead to rheumatic heart disease, particularly affecting the heart valves. Mitral stenosis is a common result of such damage, characterized by symptoms like breathlessness, fatigue, and a heart murmur.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that can develop as a complication of inadequately treated streptococcal pharyngitis. The most serious manifestation of rheumatic fever is rheumatic heart disease, which commonly affects the heart valves. Mitral stenosis is a valvular disorder often associated with the damage caused by rheumatic fever. Patients with mitral stenosis may experience symptom such as shortness of breath, fatigue, and a characteristic heart murmur due to the narrowing of the mitral valve, which impedes blood flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle.
Repeated episodes of acute rheumatic fever, especially during the first 3-5 years following the initial attack, can exacerbate the damage to heart valves. Furthermore, patients with a history of rheumatic fever who develop recurrent pharyngitis due to Streptococcus pyogenes are at high risk for recurrent attacks of rheumatic fever and subsequent worsening of valvular disorders.