61: Infective Endocarditis Part 2: Understanding Valvular Damage, Embolic Sequelae, and Clinical Manifestations

Last week, Sarah shared the story of a patient who was finally diagnosed with infective endocarditis after presenting with several symptoms, including fever, tachypnea, chest pain, hypotension and more. In this episode, she’ll further explain how the patient was diagnosed and the pathophysiology of this type of infection.

Sarah goes over how septic emboli form, and the clinical manifestations that result when they travel in the body as well as the risks and signs of valvular damage to look out for when you’ve diagnosed infective endocarditis.

You’ll also learn the areas of the body that can be affected by endocarditis, the diagnostic criteria, and what conditions can predispose a patient to infective endocarditis. Sarah covers the critical role that nurses can play in treating these at-risk patients and how education and compassion can make the biggest difference in the patient’s long term outcome.

Make sure you’re prepared to recognize the signs and symptoms of infective endocarditis and tune into this episode now!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What predisposes a patient to infective endocarditis
• Why and how bacteria starts to form
• What happens after bacteria has invaded the body
• How endocarditis can lead to dysrhythmias
• The formation of mobile septic emboli and their danger
• How infective endocarditis presents in a patient
• Common symptoms of infective endocarditis
• How the diagnosis of infective endocarditis is made
• The two treatment options for infective endocarditis
• The Nurse’s role in caring for this patient population