What causes infective endocarditis?
Infectious endocarditis can result from a variety of organisms, but most frequently are streptococci, which is a bacterial species that is normally present in the oral cavity. The disease can also be caused by other bacteria and fungi (candida). The bacteria usually come with blood flow to the heart, where they settle on the heart valves. It multiplies itself and generally, form's wart-like growths. These growths can loosen, and entered the bloodstream that bacterial blood clots (bacterial emboli). The valves damaged by inflammation, which may cause the valves to leak and the pumping work is heavier, at worst so complicated that it becomes a life-threatening condition.
Approximately, two-thirds of the patients have some cardiac defect, such as congenital heart defects, prior to infection. Such a heart defect may be undetected until endocarditis occurs.
People with special risk for endocarditis, patients with artificial heart valves (dentures), with heart failure caused by certain rheumatic diseases, congenital heart defects, other defects of the heart valves, previous infective endocarditis, impaired defense against infection, patients hospitalized catheters or electrodes in the veins, intravenous drug abuse.
There have been major changes in the causes of endocarditis. Chronic rheumatic heart disease is today in Western countries an unusual cause more common causes in our day and valvular disease in the elderly, intravenous drug abuse, insertion of artificial valves, instrumentation inside the blood vessels along with increased incidence of Staphylococcus infections. New bacteria detected, and multi-resistant bacteria make treatment more difficult.
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