Bacteria

  I have been having problems relating to mvp for about 1 year.  My original doctor related it to stomach problems. so they did a procedure on my stomach.  Also I had several dental procedures in the last year. I am going for an echo and doppler would they be able to pick up if you were having signs of bacterial endocarditis on those test and if not how would you know if you had symptoms of this.

[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

Dear Ray,
The symptoms that a patient with bacterial endocarditis gets are variable but
generally include fevers, chills, and general malaise.  Some patients experience only
a general 'run-down' feeling without fevers.  Some will experience symptoms related
to the infection of their heart valves, such as shortness of breath.
As for the diagnosis of endocarditis, the first thing done after blood cultures
are drawn is to do an echocardiogram (transthoracic or TTE) and if that doesn't show
any abnormalities but the clinical suspicion is still high, then you proceed
with a transesophageal echocardiogram(TEE).  A large majority of the time the
TTE will show any endocarditis however there are always a few cases that can
only be picked up on TEE.  A TEE of course is a little more invasive in that
the echo probe (like a thin microphone is placed down you esophagus or feeding
tube that leads to the stomach, as opposed to the TTE when the echo probe is
placed simply on your chest.)   Echocardiograms have made the diagnosis of
endocarditis much easier as well as more accurate, and those who have their
endocarditis diagnosed are much better off than those who do not.  Good Luck.
Information provided in the heart forum is intended for general medical informational
purposes only, actual diagnosis and treatment can only be made by your physician(s).