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Query: UMLS:C0014118 (endocarditis)
 15,629 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

There is a strong link between antiphospholipid antibodies and stroke. Retrospective studies indicate that these patients are generally young, often have had prior thrombotic events including stroke, frequently complain of headaches, and often experience amaurosis fugax. Cardiac valvular lesions, particularly involving the mitral valve, are frequently found. The limited pathological studies show a noninflammatory thrombotic occlusion of both large and small cerebral vessels and a "thrombotic endocarditis." The underlying pathogenesis involves an immune-mediated prothrombotic state.
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PMID:Stroke associated with antiphospholipid antibodies. 156 70

Coxiella burnetii, the etiologic agent of Q fever, is mainly responsible for endocarditis with negative blood culture results, but only a few cases of C. burnetii infections of aortic aneurysms have been published. We report three cases of abdominal aortic aneurysms treated in patients with Q fever infection with simultaneous endocarditis (n = 1) and previous history of cardiac valve replacement for endocarditis (n = 1). A coeliac aortic aneurysm was diagnosed in one patient treated for acute Q fever with persistent serologic results showing chronic infection despite adequate antibiotic therapy and without endocarditis. Resection of the aneurysm cured the chronic infection, and C. burnetii was identified by culture of the aneurysmal wall. In the two other cases, chronic infection of C. burnetii was diagnosed by serologic examination after surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. One patient with negative blood culture results had amaurosis fugax due to endocarditis and required aortic valve replacement; recurrent fever without evidence of valve dysfunction or infection developed in one patient who had had prosthetic cardiac valve replacement 6 months earlier for endocarditis. Aortic aneurysms were treated with in situ prosthetic grafts and long-term antibiotic therapy. At a mean follow-up of 12 years, no septic aortic complications occurred, and serologic test results have remained negative. The presence of an aortic aneurysm and cardiac valve disease seems to be a predisposing factor for chronic C. burnetii infection. Diagnosis particularly relies on the physician's awareness of this condition and is confirmed by serologic examination. Aortic aneurysm resection is mandatory to cure the chronic infection and must be associated with long-term antibiotic therapy.
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PMID:Abdominal aortic aneurysm and Coxiella burnetii infection: report of three cases and review of the literature. 1601 65

A 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for persistent fever, myalgias, articular pain, headache, and hypoaesthesia of the scalp. The clinical scenario was typical for giant-cell arteritis. During hospital stay, patient developed fugax amaurosis, stroke, and acute coronary syndrome. The definitive diagnosis of infective endocarditis, supported by transesophageal echocardiography, was confirmed only by culturing the material obtained during angiography and coronary thromboaspiration.
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PMID:Culture of the aspirated coronary thromboembulus specimen: a peculiar diagnostic method for infective endocarditis. 2353 33

The changes in the cardiovascular system are associated with ocular manifestations, often as a consequence of pathological alteration in the ocular vasculature. The ease of visualization of these retinal changes makes the eye a window to the cardiovascular system. Certain congenital cardiac defects lead to changes in the retinal vascularity due to increased tortuosity and dilatation. In adults, the arterial dissection of internal carotid and vertebral arteries present as amaurosis fugax with or without oculo-sympathetic palsy. The patients with untreated infective endocarditis present with Roth spots, retinitis, embolic retinopathy, or sub-retinal abscesses. Hypoperfusive, hypertensive, or "mixed" retinopathy is a hallmark sign in patients of untreated infective endocarditis. Giant cell arteritis can present with ischemic ocular symptoms that may precipitate in irreversible vision loss. Systemic vascular manifestations such as coronary artery disease may manifest in a wide range of symptoms from amaurosis fugax to vision loss depending upon the size and location of retinal emboli. Rare cardio-oncological pathologies such as myxomas result in vision loss secondary to central retinal artery occlusion. A high clinical suspicion in patients with history of cardiovascular diseases can help in early diagnosis and management of impending, adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. In this review, we comprehensively discuss the spectrum of cardiac and vascular diseases with ocular manifestations as well as highlight the typical ocular presentations associated with these pathologies.
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PMID:Window to the circulatory system: Ocular manifestations of cardiovascular diseases. 3234 Apr 80