SUB BACTERIAL ENDOCARDITIS

  What diagnostic tests do they use to support a finding of SBE?
  If it is from a Dental Infection, can they isolate the bacteria either
  in the blood or biopsy of the heart?
Dear Cathy
In SBE, regardless of the cause, it should be possible to isolate the bacteria from the blood. This may not be true if you have received a course of antibiotics before the appropriate blood work is drawn. The other tests that are useful in diagnosing endocarditis are cardiac ultrasounds - echocardiograms. The diagnosis can become tricky because many times the patient has already been treated with antibiotics before the diagnosis is considered. A biopsy of the heart is not performed to make this diagnosis.
I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.