The tale of infective endocarditis: fatal then curable but rarely preventable

The story of infective endocarditis (IE) is a miracle of medical progress. In retrospect, it seems as a logical and orderly progression of remarkable events leading to the nearly complete conquest of the disease. IE was almost uniformly fatal until the 1st cures by surgery, followed by frequent cures with antibiotics, further improved when combined with valve surgery. Most recently, it has become almost a new disease with a change in the offending organisms, a change in the type of afflicted patients and the infection of implanted medical devices. Despite therapeutic success, prevention of IE has been elusive. In this review, the authors tell the story by highlighting major events, illustrating interconnections among branches of science that brought the authors to their present state and describing some well-known patients. For this summary, the authors are indebted to the more detailed descriptions of the IE history readily available for interested readers.