Endocarditis
Endocarditis is a bacterial infection of the lining of the heart. It is a serious condition that can lead to life-threatening complications if not treated quickly enough.
If you or your loved one developed endocarditis but medical practitioners failed to diagnose and treat the illness in time, there could be a case of medical negligence.
For more information on claiming compensation for infective endocarditis, please contact our team of solicitors today.
Infective endocarditis – symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
The lining of the heart is called the endocardium. If it becomes infected with bacteria, the patient has endocarditis. The infection is more common in people with damaged heart valves, or artificial heart valves, because the immune system does not respond as effectively.
Endocarditis can develop very suddenly over the course of a few days. This is called acute endocarditis. Alternatively the condition can progress very gradually over several weeks or months. This is called subacute endocarditis. The symptoms for both are the same and will include:
- Flu-like symptoms with high temperature, chills, muscle/joint pain and night sweats
- Heart murmurs
- Tiredness
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Headaches
- Spots and a rash on the skin
- Blood underneath the nails with spots/lumps on the hands and feet
A patient with these symptoms should be investigated for endocarditis. Suspicions should be particularly raised if the patient has a history of heart disease or artificial heart valves. A diagnosis can be confirmed with a blood test and an echocardiogram (ECG) which scans the heart.
Once diagnosed, a patient must be treated with intravenous antibiotics. If endocarditis is not treated quickly enough, the heart can become severely damage. When this happens the patient will also need surgical treatment to repair the damage.
What happens if endocarditis is not treated?
As mentioned above, the heart can become severely damaged if endocarditis is not treated. This can result in life-changing, and life-threatening, complications. These include stroke, heart failure, blood clots and permanent heart damage.
To avoid such complications, endocarditis must be treated in the early stages, before the heart has sustained too much damage. If this is achieved, the outlook is positive and the patient can make a full recovery. But if there is any delay in treatment, the patient's life will be put at risk.
Compensation for endocarditis
If you or your loved one has suffered serious health complications because of a delay in diagnosing and treating endocarditis, there could be a case of medical negligence. This would entitle you to pursue a claim for compensation. Please get in touch to find out more.
Contact us today
To find out more about making a medical negligence claim, please get in touch with our team today. We will advise whether or not you are eligible to pursue a claim for compensation. If so, we can help you get the financial redress you deserve.
Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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