Supraventricular tachycardia as the initial presentation of bacterial infective endocarditis: A rare case report

Abstract

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infection of the heart valves or the heart’s inner lining. The clinical symptoms of infectious endocarditis vary considerably, some are subtle and non-specific, which make the diagnosis difficult or the signs misleading. In some cases cardiac symptoms are associated with intra cardiac extension of the infection, including murmur, conduction blocks and congestive heart failure. However, there was no literature description of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) as the initial presentation of IE. Herein we report a case of bacterial IE with SVT as the initial presentation of disease, which finally leaded to catastrophic outcome. This rare case should be the reminder for physicians that in patients with SVT in combination with higher level of inflammatory markers, one should also consider the possibility of IE, to help to avoid its catastrophic consequences.