Last Updated on March 14, 2023 by Dr. Saqib Mueed
Endocarditis can be defined as a problem that involves the inflammation of the heart muscle and heart valves. It is also called bacterial endocarditic, about 25 percent cause aged 60 years affected people in the United States. Every year about 4 people in 100000 people are affected by endocarditic. It is a rare condition.
Other names of endocarditis
Its other names are infective endocarditic, bacterial endocarditic, infectious endocarditic, and fungal endocarditic. These infections are caused by streptococcal and staphylococcal bacteria.
Occurrence
Bacteria, fungi, and other germs are the factors that are responsible for endocarditic. These factors are entering through the mouth, spread through the bloodstream and are attached to those broken areas in the heart. It is not recovered speedily it could damage our valves and remain life-threatening. It is recovered in different ways like antibiotics and surgery.
Causes of Endocarditis
A person is affected by this disease when different germs enter our heart by the bloodstream and go to our heart and attached to abnormal valves of the heart and damaged heart tissue. By this, our immune system is destroyed.
Different germs like bacteria, fungi, and other germs are entering our bloodstream through different ways such as;
1) Daily oral activities like the endocarditic can also be increased by the poor health in our gums and teeth these both allow the germs to enter your bloodstream and caused endocarditic it occurred when our teeth and gums do not remain healthy.
2) Sometimes when bacteria and fungi enter the body by bloodstream because of infection
3) The risk of endocarditic can also be increase by the effect of urinary and when infection occurred in bones.
4) The endocarditic can also increase if bacteria enter the body. After this bacterium go to their target point and these bacteria damage the tissues and, in this way, the risk of endocarditis can be increased.
5) When we used unclean or unwashed needles and used safety and scissor then these bacteria enter our body through the bloodstream and can damage the tissues and endocarditis problems also increase in these ways.
6) The risk of endocarditis also can be increased by the infection of candida fungal.
7) Endocarditis also increased by intestinal problems and caused by this.
8) By the use of urinary catheters and intravenous apparatus also causes endocarditis.
9) Another way by this endocarditis that is the dental procedure by this sometimes can cut our gums and this way permits the bacteria or fungi and it enters our bloodstream and damages the heart tissues, and we feel an imbalance in body functions
10) It is also caused by other medical ways or conditions such as when our skin is infected by injury and skin sore, and bacteria enter by gum disease, by infected sexual relationship by all these ways more chances bacteria enter our body by the bloodstream and do endocarditis.
11) This disease is also caused by catheters; it is a method which doctors used by the purpose of injecting and remove fluid from our body.
Symptoms of Endocarditis
Endocarditis occurs may be very slow speed or very fast when any germ affects a person it is depending on germs kind this germ is bacteria, fungi, or another germ and in which way it caused the infection. The signs of endocarditis are various from one person to another person. Some kinds and symptoms of endocarditis are,
1) The increase in cough is a symptom of the endocarditis
2) The feel headache
3) The patients with endocarditis its blood vessels into the skin and eyes may be color in red or yellow and feel extreme pain in the eyes.
4) The patient’s spleen enlargement
5) The patient of this disease the blood comes from through or nose
6) The patients who are infected by this disease feel sweats even in the nighttime.
7) The patient’s appetite removes, or decreased
8) The patient infected by this disease feels high temperature when the condition is normal, or the temperature is normal.
9) The severe pain in most body parts like muscles, neck, legs, head, finger neck
10) The patient with endocarditis feels breath problems like breath shortness.
11) The patient feels weakness and attains the yellowish color of skin he does not do any work properly and remain in bad health.
12) The patient infected by germs weight loss is a disease which is also identified in this patient and weight loss day by day.
13) The patient feels the fatigue in muscles in legs and headaches.
14) The patient feels pain also in the chest.
15) Another disease in this patient is that swelling of the fingers, legs feet, and abdomen.
16) Endocarditis can also cause symptoms like flu, fever, and chills.
17) Small red or purple spot on the skin or inside the mouth. And also, the eyes become white.
Diagnosis
In this process, the physician asked the patient’s medical history. A recent medical procedure or test such as an operation. The physician would check the fever nodules also and other signs such as heart low sound. A series of tests may be used to confirm endocarditis. Our doctor does order for help to make a diagnosis such as.
Blood testing; this test is used for the identification of the different types of germs like bacteria and fungi in our bloodstream. Blood testing also helps the doctor to identify the different symbols of endocarditis including the become smaller the red blood cells
Echocardiogram; this is the method in which sound waves produce the images when our heart breathing. By this method doctor also check the sing of symptom. Doctors used two different methods of echocardiogram for diagnoses the endocarditis. These types are transthoracic echocardiogram and transesophageal echocardiogram.
In transthoracic; in this method, sound waves direct by transducer and image in the form of the video appear and the doctor diagnoses the infection. And in the second type doctor puts a tube in the heart vessels and diagnoses closely put a tube through the mouth and a detailed picture is appear on the screen and an infection is seen.
Electrocardiogram; it is another type for diagnosing the infection by this doctor to see the electrical activity of the heart. During this, the detecting sensors are attached to the chest, arms, and legs. It is used for detecting the electrical activity of the heartbeat.
Chest X-rays; this method is used for the recognition of the situation’s most important organs such as the heart. X-ray images help to detect the enlarged infection from the heart to the lungs.
Magnetic resonance images; this method is used to detect the infection in the brain’s chest and other parts of the body if the infection spreads in these areas.
The images are formed of the heart including muscles with the help of sound waves. These sound waves help the detection of working or heart in detail.
Treatment of Endocarditis
The patient can be treated by two methods
1) The patient of endocarditis is given the first antibiotic. The antibiotics are given intravenous by drip. The patient is advised to take a rest in the hospital and take medicine regularly.
2) The patients are said to be home when the patients are completely recovered and become healthy and all the symptoms are gone and asked the take medicine regularly at homeland take rest at the home.
3) The patients are asked aware of the doctor if the side effects are not preventing recovery and if side effects are back. The patients are also advised to consult the doctor and to keep attached to the doctor and remain under-examined.
4) The doctors who used the antibiotics are penicillin. The antibiotics are given to the patient are about 2 to 6 week regularly.
5) And advise the patient to take medicine regularly and do exercise daily.
Surgery: The next method is surgery
- If one part of the heart does not receive blood, then the doctor decides a operate and open the valve of the heart.
- The disease continues if the patients do not receive antibiotics regularly.
- The heart is attacked by bacterial or cells large clumps.
- The surgery is down when the part of the heart damage the doctor to replace the parts or valves.
- If one part of the heart does not receive blood, then the doctor decides a operate and open the valve of the heart.
Complication
Bacteria travel towards our brain lungs kidney chest and in limbs from heart and causes occur different complication including many types of heart problems heart murmur, infection in the heart valve or heart failure, stroke, seizure.
Due to these different parts of the body do not move
Pus collection in different organs of the body
It causes also damage to the kidney, chest, and lungs and involves in enlarge of the spleen
If the part of endocarditis vegetations are broken down, then it spread or travels other parts of the body and cause infections
Risk factors
Hereditary heart problem: If a person is born during like the hereditary problem in the heart a no-do proper function or abnormal heart valves may be more chances to infection in heart valves.
Injured valves of the heart; Some remedial situations like stiff fever and infection can be damage heart valves one then more the valves of the heart and heart valves could be more porn to the endocarditis.
A record of endocarditis; Endocarditis may cause or can scratch tissues of the heart and valves, increase chances of further infection.
Some medical conditions, like sore fever or infection, can injure and scar one and more than one valves of your heart that is very drastic conditions of a person. This condition makes them the most prominent endocarditis
People who use specious drugs by the way of injection, those people are the greatest risk of endocarditis. The needle of injection maybe containing the bacteria or certain germs that can cause endocarditis.
When we attain some disease or fever and abnormal condition then we want to treat these and when we inject in this condition some germs or bacteria remain on it already about then we do not know and these bacteria or germs goes in our heart valves through the heart valve and can cause endocarditis.
On the other hand, as the same way when we dripped for certain purposes such as when our glucose level decrease and increase glucose level, or when our blood level decrease then for increase the blood level through the dripped these drips have contained some bacteria and germs which we cannot see and these germs and bacteria goes towards the heart valves through the bloodstream and can cause disease.
When we run or walk, or we travel on the road, and we have any accidents we injured and blood flow through our body in this way some germs and bacteria enter our body through the blood and to our heart valves through our bloodstream and damaged it very critically.
Prevention of Endocarditis
In several ways, we can prevent endocarditis which is, when we got the signs of endocarditis. when we examine the physician quickly when we see the sign and symptoms such as a fever that cannot go away, fatigue, some type of disease of the skin, and when we got an injury which does not accurately treat.
Special care to the health of the teeth brushes properly and floes the teeth check-up by the doctor. Away from those things which may show the way to the disease of the skin.
Prevents and save you from that needle which uses during injection or surgery use are used already. Do not use the same safety for shave nail cutter and anything which transfer any type of germs which can any disease. And save you from bad relationships such as sexual.[1]https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000296[2]https://www.accp.com/docs/bookstore/IDSAP/2021/sample_chapter.pdf
Reviewed by:
Dr. Saeed uz Zaman
MBBS, BSC (BZU), DTCD, RMP
Medical specialist in Sargodha civil Hospital
Our reviewers’ details, Click Here
