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Warmer weather brings more people outside spending time in the gardens or simply walking in the woods. Sadly, it increases the risk of exposure to ticks bites (Lyme disease).
"While many people may be familiar with Lyme's hallmark "bull's-eye" rash, the disease can produce other symptoms. These include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, swollen lymph nodes – even heart problems. Left untreated, Lyme infections also may spread to the nervous system.
Lyme carditis is a rare but serious complication, occurring in roughly 1 in 100 Lyme cases reported to the CDC each year. It occurs when bacteria from the infection enter the heart, causing inflammation and interfering with electrical signals going from the upper to lower chambers.
This creates an irregular heartbeat known as heart block, which can be as mild as small and barely noticeable pauses between heartbeats, or as severe as a skip of many heartbeats that can cause chest pain, said Dr. Richard Shen, an infectious disease specialist at Southcoast Health in southern Massachusetts."
