Ahtela E, et al. - In a population-based setting, researchers analyzed the occurrence and trends of fatal infective endocarditis (IE), a serious mainly bacterial infection related to high mortality. During 2004–2016, all adults (≥ 18 years of age) who deceased due to IE in Finland were investigated. From the nationwide, obligatory Cause of Death Registry, data was gathered. There were 28,657,870 person-years and 651,556 deaths in the background population. Infective endocarditis has led to death in 754 cases and in 352 cases has been the primary cause of death. Data reported that the standardized incidence rate of deaths related to IE was 1.42 per 100,000 person-years. Through aging from 50 years of age, the incidence rate gradually increased. The authors, for the first time, described the population-based epidemiology of fatal IE in adults. Compared with women, men had a two-fold risk of acquiring fatal IE. Although the occurrence of fatal IE increased with aging, in the young adult population, the proportion of deaths to which IE contributed was highest.