Infective endocarditis occurs when bacteria or fungi in the blood stream enter the heart’s inner lining or valves. Nearly 34,000 people receive treatment for this condition each year, of which approximately 20% die. One of the major risk factors for infective endocarditis is drug abuse.
“Infective endocarditis related to drug abuse is a nationwide epidemic,” said the study’s senior author Serge C. Harb, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. “These patients are among the most vulnerable — young and poor, and also frequently have HIV, hepatitis C and alcohol abuse.”
