Cardiology Microbiology Flashcards
Who is endocarditis or infective endocarditis lively to effect (Risk factors)?
- Damaged or artificial heart valves
- Congenital/structural heart defects
- Implanted medical devices (heart or blood vessels)
- IVD abusers
- Bloodstream infections
What does Endocarditis mean ?
Endocarditis means “inflammation of the inner layer of the heart.
It turns out that most cases of endocarditis are due to a microbial infection of the endocardium, usually involving the endocardium lining the cardiac valves.
Which part of the heart is most commonly effected by endocarditis ?
It turns out that most cases of endocarditis are due to a microbial infection of the endocardium, usually involving the endocardium lining the cardiac valves.
The valves have tiny blood vessels that nourish them, even though they’re flopping around in blood all day long. This means that an infection can potentially result from a damaged valve, because it would allow microbes to escape the tiny blood vessels and invade the valve tissue, or on the flip side, microbes in the blood might enter the tiny vessels within the valve.
