What do doctors call this condition?

Endocarditis, infective endocarditis, bacterial endocarditis
What is this condition?

Inflammation of the heart lining is an infection of the endocardium, heart valves, or a valve prosthesis, resulting from bacteria or fungi.

The infection produces vegetative growths on the heart valves, the lining of a heart chamber, or the inside lining of a blood vessel that may embolize (break off and travel through the bloodstream) to the spleen, kidneys, central nervous system, and lungs.

In this disorder, fibrin and platelets aggregate on the valve tissue and engulf circulating bacteria or fungi that flourish and produce vegetations. Such vegetations may cover the valve surfaces, causing ulcers and necrosis (tissue death).

Untreated, inflammation of the heart lining is usually fatal, but with proper treatment, the recovery rate is 70%. The prognosis is poorest when the inflammation causes severe valve damage, leading to insufficiency and heart failure, or when it involves a prosthetic valve.
What causes it?

Most cases of inflammation of the heart lining occur in intravenous drug abusers, people with prosthetic heart valves, and those with mitral valve prolapse. Other predisposing conditions include rheumatic heart disease, coarctation of the aorta, tetralogy of Fallor, subaortic and aortic stenosis, ventricular septal defects, pulmonic stenosis, Marfan syndrome, and degenerative heart disease, especially calcific aortic stenosis. However, some people with an inflamed heart lining have no underlying heart disease.
What arethe Symptoms of Endocarditis?

Early symptoms include malaise, weakness, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, joint pain, sweating during the night, chills, valvular insufficiency and, in 90% of cases, an intermittent fever that may recur for weeks. When examining the person with a stethoscope, the doctor may hear a loud heart murmur.

In about 30% of people with the disorder, embolization (release of material into the bloodstream) from vegetating lesions or diseased valve tissue may produce:

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pain in the left upper area of the stomach, radiating to the left shoulder
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blood or pus in the urine, flank pain, and decreased urine output
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partial paralysis, inability to speak, or other nervous system deficits
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chest pain, shortness of breath, and a cough that may produce blood
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numbness and tingling in an arm, leg, finger, or toe.
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Other signs may include an enlarged spleen, skin rash, and splinter hemorrhages under the nails.

How is it diagnosed?

Three or more blood cultures in a 24- to 48-hour period identify the causative organism in up to 90% of people. The remaining 10% may have negative blood cultures, possibly suggesting fungal infection or infections that are hard to diagnose, such as Haemophilus parainfluenzae.

Echocardiography (an ultrasound test of the heart) may identify valvular damage; an electrocardiogram may show atrial fibrillation and other irregular heart rhythms that accompany valvular disease.
How is it treated?

Treatment tries to kill the infecting organism. Antibiotics should start promptly and continue for 4 to 6 weeks.

Supportive treatment includes bed rest, aspirin for fever and aches, and sufficient fluids. Severe valve damage may require corrective surgery if heart failure develops or in cases requiring that an infected prosthetic valve be replaced.