Sarah’s Endocarditis, Swine Flu (H1N1 Virus) And Heart Valve Scare
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009I just received a roller coaster email from Sarah about endocarditis, swine flu (H1N1 virus) and heart valves that made my head spin. In the end, Sarah raises some great points for patients and caregivers about endocarditis, swine flu, fevers, false tests and dental work. Here is what she writes:
Adam,
I just returned from a very scary 36 hours that landed me in the hospital with fears of endocarditis.

Last Friday, I called my primary care doctor because I had been fighting a cough, congestion and fever for over a week. She did a quick test for the flu, it came up negative. I told her that I had dental work to put on a crown about 10 days earler, two days before the fever started. Well, that set up a red flag for the possibility of a heart valve infection (endocarditis) even though I had used amoxicillin as advised by my doctor before the dental work.

Today's Patient Story:




