Figure 2.

Pathogen-induced acquired pediatric heart disease. Some pediatric cardiac conditions have well-defined immune causes in response to an infectious organism. (A) In RHD, biomimicry, in which antibodies against Group A streptococcal bacteria cross react with cardiac proteins, causes cardiac damage, specifically mitral valve fibrosis and subsequent stenosis. (B) The endothelium can also become directly infected, as seen in endocarditis, in which flow induced damage creates a nidus for bacterial seeding.