Overview

Bacterial endocarditis is usually a multisystemic disorder associated with bacteremia and the infection of joints, kidneys, and cardiac valves.

The joint disease may be of two types:

1. Septic joint disease or
2. Immunologic joint disease

The renal disease may result in acute renal failure due to diffuse ischemia or may be occult.

The cardiac disease may cause any of the following:

1. Dysrhythmias
   – premature beats/tachycardia
   – heart block
2. Destruction of the mitral valve leaflets may cause severe mitral valve insufficiency with left ventricular volume overload.
3. Rupture of a chordae tendinae may result in massive mitral valve insufficiency and fulminant pulmonary edema and death.
4. Destruction of the aortic valve with severe aortic insufficiency. This results in severe LV volume overload, congestive heart failure and death.