Endocarditis

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Heart, front view	Heart, section through the middle	Heart valves	Janeway lesion - close-up
Janeway lesion on the finger

Valve infection

Hospitalization is often required initially to administer intravenous antibiotics. Long-term antibiotic therapy is required to eradicate the bacteria from the heart chambers and valves.

Therapy is usually administered for 6 weeks. The chosen antibiotic must be specific for the organism causing the condition. This is determined by the blood culture and the sensitivity tests.

If heart failure develops as a result of damaged heart valves, or if the infection is breaking off in little pieces, resulting in a series of strokes, or there is evidence of organ damage, surgery to replace the affected heart valve is usually needed.

Early treatment of endocarditis improves the chances of a good outcome.

• congestive heart failure if treatment is delayed
• blood clots or an infected clots from the endocarditis that travel to the brain, kidneys, lungs, or abdomen, causing severe damage to and infection of these organs
• arrhythmias (rapid or irregular heartbeat), such as atrial fibrillation
• glomerulonephritis
• severe heart valve damage
• stroke
• brain abscess
• brain or nervous system changes
• jaundice

Call your health care provider if you note the following symptoms during or after treatment:

• weight loss without change in diet
• blood in urine
• chest pain
• weakness
• fatigue
• numbness
• fever

Review Date: 02/13/2006
Reviewed By: Monica Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.