Permanent heart damage from rheumatic fever is called rheumatic heart disease .
Rheumatic fever begins with a strep throat from streptococcal infection.
If it's not treated, the streptococcal infection can develop into acute rheumatic fever. Anyone can get acute rheumatic fever, but it usually occurs in children five to 15 years old. The resulting rheumatic heart disease can last for life. The symptoms of rheumatic heart disease vary greatly from person to person. Often the damage to heart valves isn't immediately noticeable.