I Gede Bagus Gita Pranata Putra
Cardiologist, General Hospital Sanjiwani, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19184/ams.v11i1.51938

Abstract

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) causes an inflammatory process that can affect multiple organs including the heart conduction system. The most common rhythm issues are first-degree atrioventricular (AV) block, complete AV block, and another kind of aberrant conduction. The occurrence of second and third-degree AV block are less common in ARF. Modified major and minor of Jones criteria are used to diagnose ARF, other supportive laboratory examinations are helpful to confirm the diagnosis. We reported a 25-year-old man came to the emergency unit with a fever and chest pain. A complete AV block was found using an electrocardiogram along with high Anti-Streptolysin O (ASO) titers and troponin as proof of the inflammatory process in the cardiac conduction system. The patient is completely recovered with corticosteroid without any single residual symptom. Despite the rarity of its occurrence, adult-onset ARF may be one of the causes of complete AV block. AV block in rheumatic fever is a self-limiting condition that will recover within a few days to weeks, some cases need corticosteroid administration to resolve the inflammation process.

Keyword: Atrioventricular block, rheumatic fever

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