Despite having a chronic cardiac condition, you can live a healthy, happy life if you have the right team in place, the right medications and devices prescribed as needed, and the right lifestyle changes. A chronic cardiac condition is usually caused by a diseased or damaged heart. Some common problems are: Coronary artery disease (CAD) Heart attack High blood pressure Valve disease Cardiomyopathy A chronic cardiac condition's symptoms can range from mild to severe and vary from person to person. Symptoms can appear suddenly or gradually, depending on the cause. A very mild condition may not have any visible symptoms at all. It is critical to recognize the signs as soon as they appear and to treat the condition as soon as possible with the assistance of your cardiac healthcare team. Treatment differs from one patient to the next.

Sore throats are common in children and can be painful. However, a sore throat that is caused by a virus does not need antibiotics. In those cases, no specific medicine is required, and your child should get better in seven to ten days. In other cases, a sore throat could be caused by an infection called streptococcal (strep throat). Strep cannot be accurately diagnosed by simply looking at the throat. A lab test or in-office rapid strep test, which includes a quick swab of the throat, is necessary to confirm the diagnosis of strep. If positive for strep, your pediatrician will prescribe an antibiotic. It's very important that your child take the antibiotic for the full course, as prescribed, even if the symptoms get better or go away. Steroid medicines (such as prednisone) are not an appropriate treatment for most cases of sore throat. Babies and toddlers rarely get it strep throat, but they are more likely to become infected by streptococcus bacteria if they are in child care or if an older sibling has the illness. Although strep spreads mainly through coughs and sneezes, your child can also get it by touching a toy that an infected child has played with.