Endocarditis (Heart Valve Disease)

Endocarditis is caused by a bacterial infection.

In this article:

What is endocarditis?

Symptoms

Causes

Diagnosis

Treatment

How Chemist Online can help

Advice & Support

What is endocarditis?
Endocardium is the tissue that lines the inside of the heart chambers. With endocarditis, a bacterial infection causes the endocardium, heart muscles and valves to become inflamed. It can be a life-threatening condition.

Symptoms
A heightened awareness of your heart beating is a common symptom of endocarditis. Other symptoms include:

Heart murmurs

A general feeling of being unwell

Muscular aches and pains

Loss of appetite (and therefore weight-loss)

Tiredness (this can be mild or overwhelming, depending upon the severity of your condition)

Breathlessness

Feverish symptoms (high temperature, cough, headaches…)

Sweating (especially at night)

Swollen ankles and/or feet

Swelling around the abdomen

Dizziness

Note: Symptoms generally appear gradually over a period of several months (unless ‘acute endocarditis’ develops, where the onset of symptoms can occur almost overnight).

Causes
Endocarditis is caused by bacteria entering your bloodstream through activities, such as: brushing your teeth (where poor dental care is present and the bacteria enters through your gums), or simply through chewing food.
You can also ‘catch’ the infection through having unprotected sex with someone who has a sexually transmitted disease (STD), such as gonorrhoea or chlamydia.

Other causes of endocarditis include: Having intestinal disorders or rheumatic fever in childhood, or as part of the ageing process (where the valves naturally become less flexible or damaged in some way due to becoming weaker).

Some people are born with a defective heart valve (a congenital deformity) and develop the symptoms of endocarditis in later life.

Diagnosis
If you are suffering from the aforementioned symptoms, make an appointment to see your GP immediately. After taking your medical history (particularly in relation to your heart’s health) and asking you some questions about your symptoms, your GP will then use a stethoscope to listen for heart murmurs. You will then be referred to a heart specialist at your local hospital where you will undergo a series of tests (a blood test, echocardiogram, and CT scan).

Treatment
Most cases of endocarditis are successfully treated with a course of antibiotics. This usually lasts for a minimum of a month and involves a series of injections.

Where infection is severe, heart valve surgery may be recommended.

How Chemist Online can help
Through this website we have a range of treatments available to buy which can help you to maintain a healthy heart.


www.chemistonline.co.uk



Advice & Support
British Heart Foundation
Tel: 08450 70 80 70 (Helpline)
Website: www.bhf.org.uk

Heart UK
Tel: 0845 450 5988 (Helpline)
Website: www.heartuk.org.uk


This information and advice is not intended to replace the advice of your GP or chemist. Chemist Online is also not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based upon the content of the Chemist Online website. Chemist Online is also not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites.






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