Infection of the valves or the membrane that lines the heart, caused by a streptococcal organism that lives in these areas. This condition usually occurs in a person with a damaged heart due to an illness such as rheumatic fever.
A heart valve infection that becomes clinically evident after weeks or months. It usually results from infection with streptococcal species that have relatively low virulence (e.g., viridans group streptococci). The infection often develops on a previously abnormal heart valve.