Myocarditis (patient information)

Myocarditis
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
When to seek urgent medical care?
Diagnosis
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Myocarditis?
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
Prevention
Myocarditis On the Web
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Images of Myocarditis
Videos on Myocarditis
FDA on Myocarditis
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Myocarditis in the news
Blogs on Myocarditis
Directions to Hospitals Treating Myocarditis
Risk calculators and risk factors for Myocarditis

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Editors-in-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D.

Overview

Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle.

What are the symptoms of Myocarditis?

There may be no symptoms. Symptoms may be similar to the flu. If symptoms occur, they may include:

• A racing heartbeat
• Chest pain that may resemble a heart attack
• Fatigue
• Fever and other signs of a flu-like infection including headache, muscle aches, sore throat, diarrhea, or a rash
• Joint pain or swelling
• Leg swelling
• Shortness of breath

Other symptoms that may occur with this disease:

• Fainting, often related to irregular heart rhythms
• Low urine output

What causes Myocarditis?

Myocarditis is an uncommon disorder that is usually caused by viral, bacterial, or fungal infections that reach the heart.

• Viral infections:Coxsackie B, Cytomegalovirus, Hepatitis C, Herpes, HIV, Parvovirus
• Bacterial infections: Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, Streptococcus, Treponema
• Fungal infections: Aspergillus, Candida, Coccidioides, Cryptococcus, Histoplasma

When you have an infection, your immune system produces special cells that release chemicals to fight off disease. If the infection affects your heart, the disease-fighting cells enter the heart. However, the chemicals produced by an immune response can damage the heart muscle. As a result, the heart can become thick, swollen, and weak. This leads to symptoms of heart failure.

Other causes of myocarditis may include:

• Allergic reactions to certain medications or toxins (alcohol, cocaine, certain chemotherapy drugs, heavy metals, and catecholamines)
• Being around certain chemicals
• Certain diseases that cause inflammation throughout the body (rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis)

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of myocarditis, especially after a recent infection. Seek immediate medical help if you have severe symptoms or have been diagnosed with myocarditis and have increased:

• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Swelling of your extremities

Diagnosis

A physical examination may show no abnormalities, or may reveal the following:

• Abnormal heartbeat or heart sounds (murmurs, extra heart sounds)
• Fever
• Fluid in the lungs
• Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
• Swelling of the legs

Tests used to diagnosis myocarditis include:

• Blood cultures for infection
• Blood tests for antibodies against the heart muscle and the body itself
• Chest x-ray
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Heart muscle biopsy (endomyocardial biopsy)
• Ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram)
• White blood cell count

Treatment options

Treatment is aimed at the cause of the problem, and may involve:

• Antibiotics
• Anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce swelling
• Diuretics to remove excess water from the body
• Low-salt diet
• Reduced activity

If the heart muscle is very weak, your health care provider will prescribe medicines to treat heart failure. Abnormal heart rhythms may require the use of additional medications, a pacemaker, or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. If a blood clot is in the heart chamber, you will also receive blood thinning medicine.

Where to find medical care for Myocarditis?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Myocarditis

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

How well you do depends on the cause of the problem and your overall health. The outlook varies. Some people may recover completely. Others may have permanent heart failure.

Possible complications

The most likely complications are;

• Heart failure
• Cardiomyopathy
• Sudden cardiac death

Prevention

Promptly treating conditions that cause myocarditis may reduce the risk.

Source

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000149.htm

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