This reference resource represents the consensus opinion a team of international specialists on
the diagnosis and treatment of infective endocarditis (IE) many of whom have been co-authors
of American or European guidelines on the topic. It is therefore a useful tool for many
practitioners: cardiologists and cardiac imagers cardiac surgeons echocardiographers
specialists of internal medicine neurologists and infectiologists.¿¿¿Infective endocarditis
(IE) is defined as an infection of the endocardial surface of the heart which may include one
or more heart valves the mural endocardium or a septal defect. Its intracardiac effects
include severe valvular insufficiency which may lead to intractable congestive heart failure
and myocardial abscesses. If left untreated IE is generally fatal. IE is a changing disease
with new diagnostic techniques new therapeutic strategies more frequent elderly people and
patients with prosthetic valves of intravenous drug users.
