{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T13:10:06Z","timestamp":1779369006209,"version":"3.53.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779321600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCDD"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Although less frequently encountered, aortic valve stenosis is associated with complications separate from its hemodynamic burdens, such as infective endocarditis. Case Summary: We report the case of a 77-year-old female patient with regular cardiac follow-up in the setting of an asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis, who presented to the emergency department with signs and symptoms of sepsis and acute decompensated heart failure. Echocardiography revealed two vegetations attached to the tricuspid valve, an abscess of the anterior aortic ring, and a high-velocity ventricular septal defect. The patient was started on adequate antibiotic therapy. Surgical treatment in an urgent manner (within a few days) was decided by the Heart Team, in accordance with the ESC guidelines on the management of infective endocarditis. Whilst awaiting surgery, the patient presented with a sudden hemodynamic deterioration a few days after diagnosis, with cardiopulmonary arrest and subsequent death. Discussion: We hypothesize that the patient developed an infective endocarditis of the degenerated stenotic aortic valve with extension from left to right via a ventricular septal defect, the development of which was facilitated by the high trans-aortic valve gradient. Some reported cases describe a ventricular septal defect as a complication of native aortic valve endocarditis, though not all involve concomitant aortic stenosis. In conclusion, our case illustrates a very rare scenario of infective endocarditis complicating aortic stenosis with fulminant development. This case highlights a rare, albeit severe complication associated with aortic stenosis and therapeutic challenges in managing the dismal evolution of endocarditis in this setting.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcdd13050220","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T12:06:07Z","timestamp":1779365167000},"page":"220","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Rare Presentation of Infective Endocarditis Complicating Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Cyrine","family":"Sghaier","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, CHU Namur\u2013Sainte Elisabeth, 5000 Namur, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1487-6583","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marielle","family":"Morissens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, CHU Brugmann, 1020 Brussels, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pierre-Emmanuel","family":"Massart","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, CHU Namur\u2013Sainte Elisabeth, 5000 Namur, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6203-8229","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jose","family":"Castro Rodriguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, CHU Brugmann, 1020 Brussels, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Georgiana","family":"Pintea Bentea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, CHU Namur\u2013Sainte Elisabeth, 5000 Namur, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2739","DOI":"10.1093\/eurheartj\/ehx391","article-title":"2017 ESC\/EACTS Guidelines for the management of valvular heart disease","volume":"38","author":"Baumgartner","year":"2017","journal-title":"Eur. Heart J."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3948","DOI":"10.1093\/eurheartj\/ehad193","article-title":"2023 ESC Guidelines for the management of infective endocarditis","volume":"44","author":"Delgado","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eur. Heart J."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"571","DOI":"10.1136\/hrt.2003.032128","article-title":"Infective endocarditis in Europe: Lessons from the Euro heart survey","volume":"91","author":"Tornos","year":"2015","journal-title":"Heart"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"\u00d8stergaard, L., Holdgaard Smerup, M., Iversen, K., Dalsgaard Jensen, A., Dahl, A., Chamat-Hedemand, S., Bruun, N.E., Butt, J.H., Bundgaard, H., and Torp-Pedersen, C. (2020). Differences in mortality in patients undergoing surgery for infective endocarditis according to age and valvular surgery. BMC Infect. 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Heart Valve Dis."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1016\/j.idcr.2016.10.011","article-title":"Staphylococcus lugdunensis endocarditis with destruction of the ventricular septum and multiple native valves","volume":"7","author":"Ishiekwene","year":"2017","journal-title":"IDCases"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"A693","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chest.2024.06.470","article-title":"Acquired ventricular septal defect secondary to infective endocarditis","volume":"166","author":"McClain","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chest"}],"container-title":["Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2308-3425\/13\/5\/220\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T12:59:29Z","timestamp":1779368369000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2308-3425\/13\/5\/220"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]]},"references-count":17,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]}},"alternative-id":["jcdd13050220"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcdd13050220","relation":{},"ISSN":["2308-3425"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2308-3425","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]]}}}