Endocarditis

The inflammation of the heart lining, heart valves and heart muscles leads to endocarditis.The four chambers and valves of human heartis lined with a membrane. This membrane which is called endocardium when infected, a person suffers from endocarditis. This infection is generally caused by bacteria which may be streptococci or staphylococci bacteria. In some rare cases fungi infection or other micro organism may also cause this disease. The infection makes it difficult for the heart to function by developing vegetation on the heart valves. The infection may also spread to other parts of the body like kidney, lungs and brain. In some cases it may also lead to development of abscesses in the heart muscle. People can be infected with endocarditis at any age but people above 50 are more prone to this disease. This is a very uncommon disease but people suffering from heart defect or damaged heart tissue are more likely to get infected by this disease.

Symptoms

There are two types of endocarditis.Sub–acute endocarditis takes few weeks or months for the symptoms to appear. In case of acute endocarditis the infection develops very quickly and symptoms appear within a few days.
Some symptoms of endocarditis are
-Fever
-Sweating
-Chills
-Chest pain
-Cough and headache
-Weight loss
-Muscular pain
-Difficulty in breathing
-Swelling of feet, abdomen and legs
-Blood in Urine
-Broken blood vessels in skin and on the whites of the eyes

Causes

Endocarditis is caused by bacteria .It enters the blood stream and gets attached to the tissues and valves in the heart. Sometimes bacteria that live in the mouth, upper respiratory tract and other parts of the body may also cause endocarditis. Some ways that leads the bacteria to enter the blood stream are
-Everyday activities: Brushing teeth, chewing food especially for persons with teeth and gum in bad condition.
-Infection: Already infected area like sore on skin or bleeding gums.
Sexually transmitted infection like Chlamydia.
Intestinal disorders like inflammatory bowel disease.
-Dental and medical procedure: Professional teeth cleaning and scaling.

People who are more likely to develop this disease are

-People who have undergone heart valve replacement surgery.
-People already suffering from heart disease.
-People with a heart pacemaker
-People having history of Intravenous drug use.
-People recovering from serious illness like pneumonia.

Treatment

The treatment of endocarditis is possible in two ways, either by using antibiotic or by surgery.

Antibiotic- Endocarditis is treated by a course of antibiotic in most of the cases.The patient is admitted in the hospital and the antibiotic is administered through a drip in the arm. Blood samples are taken and checked on a regular basis to check the effectiveness of treatment. Once the symptoms subside the patient is released from the hospital and he continues the medication at home. In case the patient takes treatment at home, he or she should regularly visit the practitioner to check the effectiveness of medicine and side effects developed if any during the process.

Surgery-Surgery may be required in serious condition such as
-Severely damaged heart causing regurgitation.
-Large vegetation.
Fungal endocarditis not responding to antifungal medicine.

Complications

If endocarditis is not treated or delayed it may lead to following complications
-Heart Failure
-Infection
-Arrhythmias