Health Topic

Endocarditis

Endocarditis, or infective endocarditis (IE), is inflammation of the inner lining of the heart. Learn the causes, who's at risk, and how it's treated.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Endocarditis

Endocarditis is sometimes called infective endocarditis. It's a rare but life-threatening inflammation of the lining inside your heart's chambers and valves (the endocardium).

Endocarditis is usually caused by germs that get into your bloodstream and travel to your heart. Once they get inside your heart, the germs can attach to the lining or get trapped in the valves. They start to grow, causing an infection. If not treated quickly, the infection can cause damage to the heart and lead to serious health problems.

Bacterial infections cause most endocarditis. Normally, many bacteria live in your mouth, on your skin, or in other parts of the body. Sometimes the bacteria can get into your bloodstream from injuries such cuts or scrapes. Dental work and certain surgeries can also allow small amounts of bacteria to enter your bloodstream.

In some cases, fungal infections cause endocarditis. The fungi, such as yeast, can live in parts of your body. Fungal infections generally happen in people who have weakened immune systems that can't stop the fungus from growing. This includes people who have HIV.

In general, endocarditis is rare. If you're healthy, your immune system usually destroys the germs in your bloodstream before they can cause harm.

But your chance of developing endocarditis may be higher than most people if you:

  • Have certain heart conditions. Damaged or abnormal heart tissue and devices in your heart can trap germs more easily than healthy heart tissue. That means your risk of endocarditis is higher if you have: Heart valve disease.
  • Certain congenital heart defects.
  • A pacemaker or an implantable defibrillator.
  • A heart valve replacement.

Endocarditis symptoms may be severe or very mild. They may start suddenly or slowly. And they can vary from person to person. The possible symptoms of endocarditis include:

  • Fever and chills
  • New or worsening heart murmur (an unusual sound heard between heartbeats)
  • Chest pain
  • Cough
  • Muscle, joint, and back pain
  • Night sweats (heavy sweating during sleep)
  • Shortness of breath (feeling like you can't get enough air)
  • Skin changes, including: Broken blood vessels
  • Painful red or purple bumps
  • Painless flat red spots on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet

When the germs are in your heart, they can clump together with blood cells. These clumps can break off and travel through your bloodstream. They may block blood flow, spread infection, or damage your organs, including your brain, lungs, kidneys, and spleen.

Endocarditis may sometimes lead to sepsis, a medical emergency that happens when your body has an extreme response to the infection.

Endocarditis can also cause serious heart problems including:

  • Heart valve damage
  • Heart failure
  • Arrhythmia (a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat)

To find out if you have endocarditis, your health care provider will:

  • Ask about your medical history, including your symptoms, recent illnesses, and other health conditions that affect your chance of developing endocarditis.
  • Do a physical exam.
  • Likely order tests, such as: Blood tests to check for signs of infection, bacteria, or fungi in your blood.
  • Chest x-rays.
  • Heart tests.

If you have endocarditis, it's important to get treatment quickly. Treatments may include:

  • Medicines: Antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics are usually started through an intravenous (IV) line in the hospital.
  • Antifungal medicine to treat fungal infections. Your provider may suggest taking antifungal medicine for the rest of your life to prevent the infection from coming back.

Treatment may last weeks, and you may need tests to make sure it's working. Your provider will also check you for problems that could develop from endocarditis, such as heart failure or an irregular heartbeat.

If you have a higher chance of developing endocarditis than most people, you can reduce your risk if you:

  • Take good care of your teeth and gums every day
  • Have dental exams and cleaning at your dentist's office every 6 months
  • Make heart-healthy habits part of your daily life to help prevent heart disease
  • Call your health care provider right away if you have symptoms that could be endocarditis

People with the highest risk for bacterial endocarditis need antibiotics before dental visits or certain medical or surgical procedures. Ask your provider if you're part of the highest risk group. If so, let all your providers know about your risk.

It sits within Blood, Heart and Circulation.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Endocarditis

194 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

Diagnosis and Tests

Prevention and Risk Factors

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Endocarditis. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Endocarditis, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.