Abstract
Surgically treated patients (18) with heart failure from aortic insufficiency during acute endocarditis were reviewed. At the time of operation the mean duration of heart failure was 3 wk and duration of endocarditis 9 wk. Blood culture was positive in 1/2 of the patients, 39% had predisposing valve disease, 14 (78%) had a preoperative heart catheterization. The preoperatively measured regurgitation averaged 55%. All 18 patients had an artificial valve implanted, and the mean observation time for 13 long-term survivors was 3 1/3 yr. There were 3 postoperative and 2 late deaths. A long-term survival rate of 73% strongly supports early surgical treatment in patients with aortic insufficiency and heart failure during acute endocarditis.

This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit: