There are two types of endocarditis.
Infective Endocarditis
The most common type of endocarditis is caused by an infection, usually a bacterial infection, but fungi may rarely be the culprit. There are three subtypes of infective endocarditis:
- Acute infective endocarditis occurs when the condition comes on suddenly and can become life-threatening in a matter of days.
- Subacute or chronic infective endocarditis occurs when the condition develops more slowly over several weeks or months.
- Prosthetic valvular infective endocarditis results from an infection of an implanted prosthetic heart valve (used to replace a damaged or diseased heart valve), which typically develops within a year of the surgery.
Noninfective Endocarditis
Noninfective endocarditis is a rare condition and occurs when blood clots form on the heart valves in the absence of an infection. The cause of noninfective endocarditis is unknown, but it’s thought to be associated with damage to the inner layer of the heart due to heart defects, some autoimmune diseases, and certain types of cancer.
Symptoms of noninfective endocarditis occur when the blood clots break loose and travel to other parts of the body.
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