What is infective endocarditis? Infective (bacterial) endocarditis (IE) is an infection of the lining of the heart (endocardium) or heart valves. Infective endocarditis is a serious and sometimes fatal disease. Two things make it happen: bacteria and a weakened heart. Men, women of all racial and ethnic groups, and children can develop this disease. In the United States, recent national data show that in 2009 up to 28,000 affected children were diagnosed in hospitals with infective (bacterial) endocarditis. What is the role of bacteria? Certain bacteria usually live in their own body parts. They live in or on: the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract. The intestinal and urinary system. The skin. Bacteria can be in the blood. This is called bacteraemia. These bacteria can stay in abnormal heart valves or other damaged heart tissue. If this happens, they can damage or even destroy the heart valves. Heart valves are important when blood flows through the heart. They work like gates to keep the blood flowing in one direction. If they are damaged, the results can be severe. A transient bacteremia is common in many invasive operations (medical operations such as cutting open the skin). Examples include certain surgical and dental operations. However, not all bacteria cause infective endocarditis. There are only certain categories. What is the role of the heart? The normal human heart, however, is rarely affected by infective endocarditis. When bacteraemia occurs, those heart tissues are at risk for infective endocarditis. Factors that put people at high risk for infective endocarditis include: artificial (prosthetic) heart valves or prosthetic material repair of heart valves a history of endocarditis certain types of congenital heart disease abnormalities of heart valves after heart transplantation people are at high risk of getting endocarditis again before they get it. Even when they don’t have heart disease. How can I prevent infective endocarditis? Not all endocarditis can be prevented. That’s because we don’t always know when bacteraemia occurs. Because patients are at a high risk level for developing infective endocarditis, the American Heart Association recommends the use of antibiotics before certain dental procedures. However, for most patients, antibiotics are not necessary. The American Heart Association has created information cards for infective endocarditis in English and Spanish. People who have been told they need them should carry antibiotics with them. Give the card to your dentist or doctor to review. This will help them take the necessary precautions to protect your health. You can also take steps to reduce your risk of switching to infective endocarditis – for example, keeping your mouth clean and healthy can reduce the development of bacteremia.