Complications of Endocarditis

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Endocarditis damages heart valves if it is not diagnosed or adequately treated, so your heart may not pump blood as well as it did before. This is known as heart failure.

Vegetationscan be carried by the bloodstream and can cause local infections and abscesses anywhere in the body. Larger vegetations can lodge in the brain or coronary arteries, causing a stroke or heart attack.

With appropriate medical treatment approximately 90% of people with bacterial endocarditis recover. If endocarditis isn't treated, the infection progresses and it usually leads to death.

If acute endocarditis is not treated, it can lead to death within a few weeks. If subacute endocarditis is not treated it can lead to death within a couple of months to one year.