Importance of Heart Antibody in Infective Endocarditis

Abstract

Antiheart antibody (HAb) was observed in nine of 13 patients (62%) with infective endocarditis (IE). This increased prevalence of HAb in patients with IE did not appear to be a result of a generalized immunologic disturbance. Antiheart antibody was present in seven of eight patients who had clinical heart failure as a complication of their disease. In these patients, HAb possibly reflected the degree of myocardial damage induced by the endocarditis. The disappearance of the HAb from the serum was associated with recovery of the patient from the infection. The persistence of HAb with treatment signaled a grave prognosis. (Arch Intern Med 137:591-593, 1977)