Bacterial Endocarditis | Cedars-Sinai

Bacterial endocarditis is a bacterial infection of the inner layer of the heart or the heart valves. The heart has 4 valves. These valves help the blood flow ... Skiptocontent Cedars-Sinai HealthLibrary BacterialEndocarditis Share Email Print Conditions,Treatments&Diagnostics SymptomChecker VideoLibrary PreventionGuidelines HealthCalculators RiskAssessments BacterialEndocarditis Notwhatyou'relookingfor? StartNewSearch ABOUT CAUSES DIAGNOSIS TREATMENT NEXTSTEPS Whatisbacterialendocarditis? Bacterialendocarditisisa bacterialinfectionoftheinnerlayeroftheheartortheheartvalves.Theheart has4 valves.Thesevalveshelpthebloodflowthroughtheheartandlungsandouttothe body.Whenapersonhasbacterialendocarditis,thesevalvesmaynotworkcorrectly. Thiscanforcethehearttoworkhardertogetbloodouttothebody.Sometimesthe heartcan’tpumpoutenoughblood.Bacterialendocarditisisaseriousconditionthat cansometimesleadtodeath. Bacterialendocarditiscanalso causethebacteriatoclumpwithcellsandotherthingsintheblood.Theseclumps are oftencalledvegetations.Theycantraveltomanypartsofthebodyandcause problems. Inadults,bacterialendocarditis ismorecommoninmenthaninwomen.It'sveryrareinpeoplewithnormalheartswho havenootherriskfactors.It'smuchmorecommoninpeoplewithcertainheartproblems orotherriskfactors. Insomecases,thesymptomsstartsuddenlyandaresevere.Thisiscalledacutebacterial endocarditis.Inothercases,ithappensmoreslowlyandislesssevere.Thisiscalled subacutebacterialendocarditis. Whatcausesbacterialendocarditis? Somekindsofbacterianormallyliveonandinthebody.Theyliveinthemouth,in therespiratorysystem,ontheskin,andinthedigestivetract.Sometimesthesebacteria cangetintothebloodstream.Thismayhappenafteramedicalordentalprocedure thatbreakstheskinorothertissue.Bacteriagointothebloodstreamandcansettle ontheheartliningorontheheartvalves. Notalltypesofbacteriacancausethiskindofinfection,butmanytypescan.Two kindsofbacteriacausemostcasesofbacterialendocarditis.Thesearestaphylococci (staph)andstreptococci(strep). Youmaybeatincreasedriskfor bacterialendocarditisifyouhavecertainheartvalvedefects.Thisgivesthebacteria aneasierplacetotakeholdandgrow.It'srareforapersonwithanormalheart toget endocarditis. Whoisatriskforbacterialendocarditis? Severalthingsincreasethechance ofgettingbacterialendocarditis.Theyinclude: IV(intravenous)druguse Hemodialysisforkidneyfailure Heartvalvedisease,suchasleaking ornarrowedvalve Rheumaticheartdiseasecausedby strepbacteria Implantablecardiacdevice Heartdiseasepresentatbirth (congenital) Pastboutofendocarditis Poordentalhygiene Artificialheartvalvesorvalverepairorreplacement Hearttransplantwithaleakyheartvalve Weakimmunesystem Whatarethesymptomsofbacterialendocarditis? Symptomsmaycomeonsuddenlyandbesevere.Or,theymayhappenslowlyandbeless severe.Symptomsmayinclude: Feverorchills Nightsweats Fatigue Achingmusclesandjoints Troublebreathingwithactivity Shortnessofbreathwhilelying down Cough Nausea Vomiting Headaches Bloodintheurine Swellingofthefeet,legs,or abdomen Weightloss Abnormalskinchangesthatmay include: Soreredorpurplebumpsonthe fingersortoes Painless,tinyflatredspotson theskin,underfingernails,onthewhitesofyoureyes,andinsideyour mouth Howisbacterialendocarditisdiagnosed? Yourhealthcareproviderwillask aboutyoursymptomsandyourhealthhistory.Theywillgiveyouaphysicalexam. Youmayalsoneedtests,suchas: Echocardiogramtoviewthevalvesandbloodflowthroughyourheart Transesophagealechocardiogramformoredetailedviewoftheheartfromtheesophagus Bloodtestsandculturestocheckfor bacteriaandsignsofinflammation Electrocardiography(ECG)toanalyzeyourheartrhythm ChestX-raytoexamineyourlungs CardiacCT,ifmoreinformationisneededaboutyourheart Urineteststocheckforkidneydamage MRIofthebraintocheckfordamage Howisbacterialendocarditistreated? Antibioticsarethemaintreatment forbacterialendocarditis.Thetypeofantibioticdependsonseveralfactors.These includethetypeofbacteria,andifyouhaveanartificialheartvalve.Ateamof healthcareproviderswillworktogethertodecidethebesttreatmentplanforyou. This teamwilllikelyincludeacardiologist,aninfectiousdiseasedoctor,apharmacist, and aheartsurgeon.Thesurgeonisincludedifyouhavealotofheartdamageandmay need surgery. Youwillneedtotakeantibiotics formanyweeks.Atfirst,you’llbegivenantibioticsthroughanIVline.Youmay need tospendatleastthefirstweekoftreatmentinthehospital.Afterthat,youmay be abletohaveIVantibioticsathomewithhome-basedcare.Laterinyourtreatment, you maybeabletotakeoralantibiotics. Ifthedamagetoyourvalvesissevere,youmayneedheartvalvesurgery.Thisis donetorepairorreplaceadamagedheartvalve.Oryoumightneedsurgerytohelp cleartheendocarditis.Thismaybedoneiftheantibioticsdon’tworkwellenough ontheinfection. Whatarepossiblecomplicationsofbacterial endocarditis? Bacterialendocarditiscauses clumpsofbacteriaandcellsstarttoformontheheartvalves.Theseclumpscanbreak freeintothebloodstream.Theycanthencausedamagebyblockingotherbloodvessels. Theycanalsospreadtheinfectiontootherorgans.Becauseofthis,therearemany possiblecomplications.Manyoftheseareserious.Theriskofthesecomplications variesdependingonaperson’sothermedicalconditions.Possiblecomplications include: Heartfailure Heartvalvedamage Heartblock Heartattack Brainabscesses Meningitis Stroke Seizures Bloodclotinthelung(pulmonary embolism) Pneumonia Kidneyinfectionanddamage Spleenenlargementanddamage Failuretocuretheinfection Death WhatcanIdotopreventbacterialendocarditis? Notallcasesofbacterialendocarditiscanbeprevented.Butyoucanlowersomeof theserisks.Forexample,prompttreatmentofastrepinfectioncanhelppreventrheumatic heartdisease.NotusingIVdrugscanloweryourrisk.Keepingyourmouthcleanand healthycanalsoloweryourrisk. Youmayneedtotakeantibiotics beforesomemedicalanddentalprocedures.Thisistohelppreventendocarditisif you haveanartificialheartvalve.Orifyouhadheartvalverepairwithartificial material.Youmayneedtotakeantibioticsifyouhavecertainkindsofcongenital heart disease,ahistoryofendocarditis,orhadahearttransplantwithaleakyheart valve. Tellallofyourhealthcareprovidersanddentistsaboutyourhearthealthhistory. WhenshouldIcallmyhealthcareprovider? Seeahealthcareproviderrightawayifyouhaveanysymptomsofendocarditis. Keypointsaboutbacterialendocarditis Bacterialendocarditisisaninfectionoftheheart’sinnerliningorheartvalves. It'saseriousconditionthatneedstobetreatedrightaway. Endocarditiscancauseserious complications.Itcanalsoleadtodeath. Seeahealthcareproviderrightaway ifyouhaveanysymptomsofendocarditis. Endocarditisistreatedwith antibiotics.Insomecases,surgerymaybeneeded. Followallofyourhealthcare provider’sinstructions.Takeyourmedicinesasprescribed.Keepallofyour follow-upappointments. Makesuretotellallofyour healthcareprovidersanddentistsaboutyourhearthealthhistory.Youmayneedto takeantibioticsbeforesomemedicalordentalprocedures.Thisistohelpprevent endocarditis. Nextsteps Tipstohelpyougetthemostfromavisittoyourhealthcareprovider: Knowthereasonforyourvisitandwhatyouwanttohappen. Beforeyourvisit,writedownquestionsyouwantanswered. Bringsomeonewithyoutohelpyouaskquestionsandrememberwhatyourprovidertells you. Atthevisit,writedownthenameofanewdiagnosis,andanynewmedicines,treatments, ortests.Alsowritedownanynewinstructionsyourprovidergivesyou. Knowwhyanewmedicineortreatmentisprescribed,andhowitwillhelpyou.Also knowwhatthesideeffectsare. Askifyourconditioncanbetreatedinotherways. Knowwhyatestorprocedureisrecommendedandwhattheresultscouldmean. Knowwhattoexpectifyoudonottakethemedicineorhavethetestorprocedure. Ifyouhaveafollow-upappointment,writedownthedate,time,andpurposeforthat visit. Knowhowyoucancontactyourproviderifyouhavequestions. MedicalReviewer:StevenKangMD MedicalReviewer:StaceyWojcikMBABSNRN MedicalReviewer:StaceyWojcikMBABSNRN ©2000-2021TheStayWellCompany,LLC.Allrightsreserved.Thisinformationisnotintendedasasubstituteforprofessionalmedicalcare.Alwaysfollowyourhealthcareprofessional'sinstructions. Notwhatyou'relookingfor? StartNewSearch WantMoreInformation? Cedars-Sinaihasarangeofcomprehensivetreatmentoptions. SeeOurPrograms LookingforaPhysician? Chooseadoctorandscheduleanappointment. FindaDoctor NeedHelp? 1-800-CEDARS-1 (1-800-233-2771) Available24HoursADay ScheduleaCallback ExpertCareforLife™StartsHere AdultPrimaryCare PediatricPrimaryCare UrgentCare NeedHelp? 1-800-CEDARS-1 (1-800-233-2771) ScheduleaCallback LookingforaPhysician Chooseadoctorandscheduleanappointment. FindaDoctor Share Email Print Cedars-Sinai HealthLibrary BacterialEndocarditis DOCTORS LOCATIONS MYCS-LINK