Evolution of the disease

Infective endocarditis remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for healthcare professionals, because it is a serious, life-threatening infection that requires rapid and highly skilled intervention.  

The disease also has the potential to affect other parts of the body as a result of fragments of heart warts growing and breaking off (embolisms). This can cause a wide range of clinical manifestations, from heart failure to cerebral embolism.  

Over the years, the complexity of endocarditis treatment has increased due to an ageing population, the increase in the number of valve or vascular prosthesis implants, intracardiac devices (pacemakers, defibrillators), and increased survival rates in patients with more complex cases. Simultaneously, diagnostic techniques and treatment strategies have improved and the number of surgeries has been reduced, with a subsequent reduction in mortality rates.