Guide To The Symptoms Of Endocarditis

Shortness Of Breath Or Coughing

Endocarditis develops when bacteria attach to vulnerable parts of the heart tissue and colonize. The valves of the heart are the most affected structures in the heart by bacterial endocarditis. Subacute endocarditis causes the tissues that make up the leaflets in the heart to become damaged to the point where the body initiates the mechanism used to repair damaged tissues. When this process occurs frequently over time, scar tissue begins to build on the valve leaflets because damaged tissue is replaced with dense and fibrous tissue. The buildup of fibrous scar tissue on the valve leaflets causes them to be unable to open properly. If this scar tissue from endocarditis builds on one of the pulmonary valves, it can cause blood to back up into the lungs. When blood backs up in the lungs it causes pulmonary hypertension, which produces symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath.

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