Hello and thank you for taking a moment to read this post.
My father was born (1940) in the Bronx, somewhere around Arthur Avenue. Around 1948 he had a serious bout of Rheumatic Fever. He survived it, but not without severe damage to his heart. I know my father didn't get treated with antiboitics, at least initially. He was bedridden and unable to walk for a significant period of time.
What I'm hoping to find is someone who was living in the Bronx in the 40's and remembers RF going around. Do you know if antibiotics were available to everyone at that time? Or just to certain classes?
I've just learned about Rheumatic Heart Condition and it's devastating effects. I lost my father and I'm trying to piece anything together I can.
Hi, my mom and dad both had rheumatic fever back in 1948. Mom is okay, but dad died of heart disease at age 41 in 1979. They were both laid up for almost one year with the disease. Mom doesn't remember taking antibiotics are first either, and of course my dad isn't here to ask. Many people, especially men from the area were plagued with heart disease afterwards...my uncle being another among them who died at 46. You'd be surprised to know that Bobby Darin who came from the Mott Haven area also suffered from rheumatic fever. Antibiotic use was not as widespread and they certainly did not have the number of antibiotics we have now. Many people died of simple strep throat. Wish I had more info to give you.
Thank you for your reply. I've always known my father had RF as a kid, but it's only since his death that I've learned about Rheumatic Heart Disease. My father miraculously made it to 66, I think due in part to his very clean, healthy, and active lifestyle. It's been a devastating loss to me. He went to the hospital not feeling well and died within a week. He was scheduled to have open heart surgery the next day for a valve replacement, but at that point with all the damage from the RF it was unlikely he was going to make it through. I'm blown away by the number of people who die from Rheumatic Heart Disease, yet we never hear about it. Thank you again for your reply.
Originally posted by ineedtoknowmore: Hello and thank you for taking a moment to read this post.
My father was born (1940) in the Bronx, somewhere around Arthur Avenue. Around 1948 he had a serious bout of Rheumatic Fever. He survived it, but not without severe damage to his heart. I know my father didn't get treated with antiboitics, at least initially. He was bedridden and unable to walk for a significant period of time.
What I'm hoping to find is someone who was living in the Bronx in the 40's and remembers RF going around. Do you know if antibiotics were available to everyone at that time? Or just to certain classes?
I've just learned about Rheumatic Heart Condition and it's devastating effects. I lost my father and I'm trying to piece anything together I can.
Thanks.
I WAS BORN ABOUT A HALF MILE FROM YOUR FATHER IN JULY 1940. I KNEW MANY KIDS WHO HAD RHEUMATIC FEVER, BUT I DID NOT KNOW ANY ONE WHO TOOK ANTIBOITICS FOR IT. WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WAS CAUSE BY A BAD COLD. I LIVED AT 180 ST. and mohegan ave. JOHN
I had a heart murmur when I was a kid in the '40s. They suspected rheumatic fever, but they didn't diagnose so well in those days. I had aortic valve replacement in '02 and was practically assured by my cardiologist and surgeon that I had RF as a kid. There is apparently a strong correlation between RF and valve replacement later in life. The concept of valve replacement blows me away. In earlier times a faulty valve was a death sentence.
I didn't look up penicillin, but my recall is that it was not available until the mid-'40s. Problems with hearts, lungs and such invariably caused a lot of damage until it came along.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: <CrotonaPark40s-50s>,
I only found out a few days ago that a heart murmur indicates valve damage. My father had a murmur his whole life. His aortic valve was severely damamged by the time he saw a doctor. He was scheduled for a valve replacement but didn't make it. You're very lucky to have had it replaced in time.
I'm sorry to hear about your dad Ineedtoknow and also to the others here that suffered with this disease.
But I can't give any help to your questions,I wasn't born yet, and my family wasn't living in the Bronx at this time. My family are newcomers to the Bronx, arriving in the late fifties. I never heard of this happening.
Posts: 1274 | Location: Is Everything | Registered: 22 July 2005
I got Rheumatic Fever in 1950. I was kept in bed for one year, I remember getting 100,000units of antibiotics. I lived in Clason Point on Underhill Ave. I had a home teacher for another year. I could not roller skate or run or play with the kids. My doctor was Dr. Harry Golden, his son had rheumatic fever also. He late went on to become the NYC comptroller. It never damaged my heart and I have no murmer. My mother never had it, but my Grandma had it. My daughter never got it. If you need more I will ask my Mom. She is 92 but will remember.
My mother got RF in the early 1900's. She lived to be 65; but she died from its effects. She was due to get a valve replacement; but died first. I got scarlet fever in the 50's. It only took a week to cure; it is streep too and leads to RF. Penacilin was very effective on streep for many years. It was avalible from the mid 40's. I dont know if it was avaible to the general public in WWII. The military had it.
Posts: 492 | Location: carmel, NY | Registered: 22 July 2005
Originally posted by dbob: My mother got RF in the early 1900's. She lived to be 65; but she died from its effects. She was due to get a valve replacement; but died first. I got scarlet fever in the 50's. It only took a week to cure; it is streep too and leads to RF. Penacilin was very effective on streep for many years. It was avalible from the mid 40's. I dont know if it was avaible to the general public in WWII. The military had it.
---WHEN I READ THE 1948 RHEUMATIC FEVER POST I REALIZE HOW LUCK I WAS TO NOT HAVE CAUGHT ANYTHING. I WAS BORN IN 1940
Posts: 179 | Location: RIVERDALE, BX. N Y/ ASHFORK, ARIZONA | Registered: 30 June 2007
I grew up in the Bronx and contracted rheumatic fever in 1941 when I was 7 years old. I spent the next 2 years in bed at the West Haverstraw Convalescent Home in upstate New York.
The disease left me with aortic and mitral valve damage---it was my bad luck that penicillin was not availble to the general public until a few years after I got sick.
These days rheumatic fever and polio (the other dread disease of my youth) are much rarer due to the advances in medicine
