Mandatory medical device diagnostics.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG; recording of the electrical activity of the heart muscle).
- Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE; examination is performed via the esophagus, which runs in a section directly next to the heart) – to detect possible valvular vegetations and valve destruction
Optional medical device diagnostics – depending on the results of the history, physical examination and obligatory laboratory parameters – for differential diagnostic clarification.
- Abdominal ultrasonography (ultrasound examination of abdominal organs) – for basic diagnostics (cannot replace CT).
- X-ray of the thorax (X-ray thorax/chest), in two planes.
- Computed tomography of the thorax/chest (chest CT) – minor criterion (see classification): vascular abnormalities (“vascular abnormalities) such as emboli (vascular occlusion), septic pulmonary infarcts, or infectious aneurysms (expansion of the vessel wall of an artery), and even if these are detectable exclusively in imaging studies, especially chest CT.
- Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen (abdominal CT).
- 18F-FDG PET/CT or in leukocyte SPECT/CT – Major criterion (see classification): pathological activity detectable in the area of a valve replacement (implanted at least three months ago).
