[Endocarditis in heart defects--incidence, diagnosis and prevention]

Infectious endocarditis remains a serious complication of valvular heart disease, before and after surgery, and is associated with a considerable morbidity and mortality. The incidence of endocarditis in different cardiac diseases, the modern requirements for its diagnosis, with special emphasis on the importance of echocardiography, and the guidelines for prophylaxis are reviewed and comprehensively summarized.