Prevention of Bacterial Endocarditis: 1991

Excerpt

New recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA) on the prevention of bacterial endocarditis were published in December 1990 (1) and represent a major advance in the development of rational approaches to the problem. These recommendations address nearly all the issues raised in an editorial published in Annals in 1986 (2) and also discussed by others (3-6). This editorial highlights the major changes from the 1984 guidelines (7) and discusses the major remaining problem—the approach to mitral valve prolapse.

The facts and assumptions that underpin the recommendations and that are needed to understand the guidelines include the following: 1) Persons