Disease
Infective endocarditis
Infection of heart valves with vegetations
en-doh-kar-DY-tis
High-yield clue
Fever with a new murmur plus vegetations on echocardiography is the classic endocarditis study picture.
Overview
Infection of the endocardial heart-valve surface producing microbial vegetations, studied for its acute versus subacute patterns and characteristic peripheral signs. It matters because it links persistent bacteremia to embolic and immune phenomena tested across coursework.
Classification
- Cardiovascular syndrome
- Acute vs subacute course
- Native vs prosthetic valve
- Right-sided (IV drug use) vs left-sided framing
Lab & identification clues
- Persistent bacteremia on serial blood cultures concept
- Vegetations on echocardiography vocabulary
- Peripheral signs: Janeway lesions, Osler nodes, Roth spots, splinter hemorrhages
- Modified Duke clinical-criteria terminology
Associations
- Acute aggressive disease with Staphylococcus aureus
- Subacute course with viridans streptococci after dental procedures
- Enterococci and prosthetic-valve associations
- Right-sided tricuspid disease with injection drug use
Commonly confused with
- Rheumatic heart disease
- Non-infective (marantic) endocarditis
Your notes
Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.