Latest endocarditis Stories

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- According to the American Heart Association approximately 15,000 people in the United States each year are diagnosed with infective endocarditis. Researchers are breaking ground on a new surgery to prevent this disease from causing death. Infective endocarditis is an infection that affects some part of the endocardium. The endocardium is the tissue that lines the inside of the heart chambers. The infection usually involves one or more heart valves which are part of...

Oral bacteria that escape into the bloodstream are able to cause blood clots and trigger life-threatening endocarditis. Further research could lead to new drugs to tackle infective heart disease, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin this week. Streptococcus gordonii is a normal inhabitant of the mouth and contributes to plaque that forms on the surface of teeth. If these bacteria enter into the blood stream through...

Poor dental hygiene behaviours in patients with congenital heart disease are increasing their risk of endocarditis. Teens with congenital heart disease floss, brush and visit the dentist less than their peers. But they have healthier behaviours when it comes to alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs. Adults with single ventricle physiology (a type of congenital heart disease) also have poorer dental hygiene practices than their peers despite having better health behaviours overall. The...

Among patients with infective endocarditis (an infection of the heart lining which may involve the heart valves) and heart failure, about two-thirds undergo valvular surgery, which is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death in the hospital and at one year, according to a study in the November 23/30 issue of JAMA. "Infective endocarditis is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Several published studies have reported in-hospital mortality of 15 percent to...

Surgery significantly improves short- and long-term outcomes in patients with heart failure caused by a bacterial infection known as endocarditis, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. "About 60 percent of patients with heart failure in endocarditis undergo surgery during initial hospitalization," says Duke cardiologist Andrew Wang, M.D., senior author of the study which appears today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He believes that percentage should...

Scientists have discovered the tool that bacteria normally found in our mouths use to invade heart tissue, causing a dangerous and sometimes lethal infection of the heart known as endocarditis. The work raises the possibility of creating a screening tool "“ perhaps a swab of the cheek, or a spit test "“ to gauge a dental patient's vulnerability to the condition.The identification of the protein that allows Streptococcus mutans to gain a foothold in heart tissue is reported in the June...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Not brushing your teeth at night may lead to more than just a few cavities.  Some researchers say poor oral hygiene could actually lead to heart disease.They say without regular brushing and flossing, bacteria from plaque can escape into the bloodstream and wreck havoc."Poor dental hygiene can lead to bleeding gums, providing bacteria with an escape route into the bloodstream, where they can initiate blood clots leading to heart disease," Professor Howard...

DAYTON, N.J., March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mincing Overseas Spice Company of Dayton, New Jersey announced today that it is recalling black pepper Lots 3258 and 3309 because of possible contamination with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea,...

Mayo Clinic researchers say that "teachable software" designed to mimic the human brain may help them diagnose cardiac infections without an invasive exam. Those findings are being presented yesterday at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco.Endocarditis -- an infection involving the valves and sometimes chambers of the heart -- can be a problem in patients with implanted medical devices. It is serious and can be deadly. The...