Myocarditis: Symptoms and what to look out for

What is this you ask? Well according to wikipedia myocarditis is defined as inflammation of the myocardium, the muscular part of the heart. It is generally due to infection (viral or bacterial). It may present with chest pain, rapid signs of heart failure, or sudden death.

Symptoms of myocarditis include chest pain (which can be described as a stabbing), palpitations or arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, abnormal heart beat, shortness of breath, joint pain, leg swelling, history of preceding viral illness, inability to lie flat, low urine output, sudden death*, and fever.
Often times myocarditis is caused by a viral illness, patients give symptoms consistent with recent viral infection, which includes fever, joint pains, diarrhea, and fatigue. It is common to have total lack of symptoms.

Tests to check for myocarditis include a chest x-ray, EKG, echocardiogram, white & red blood cell count.

Treatment for this disease include evaluation and treatment of underlying cause. This may include antibiotics, reduced activity, and low salt diet. If the heart muscle is very weak then medicines that treat heart failure are used as well. If there is abnormal heart beat detected then additional medications may be required. If a blood clot is present then a blood thinner is given as well. Some people may recover from this disease and others may have permanent damage.

If you show any signs of myocarditis please contact your healthcare provider especially if you have recently suffered from an infection.

If you are suffering from myocarditis contact your healthcare provider if you suffer from increased swelling, chest pain, difficulty breathing and or new symptoms.

If all of this doesn't sound bad enough my son was 4 months old when he developed this. Heart failure & baby are 2 words that should never be together. In this instance it was. I am happy to report that he is much better. He is followed by a cardiologist to make sure that this does not happen again. His cardiologist told us that once you have had this condition it is much easier to get it again.

*myocarditis causes up to 20% of all cases in young adults sudden death
http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/Myocarditis
http://www.nlm. nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/artic le/000149.htm

Just a little bit of information for those that had never heard of this or didn't know what it was. Just so you know anyone that is in a weakened condition can develop this. Just like the article said my son was just getting over what appeared to be a cold and was being treated by his pediatrician for such. We had just been to his Dr for a follow up to be sure he was better from what appeared to be an average cold. He had just gotten off antibiotics when we took him into the ER for shortness of breath. What appeared to be an average cold turned out to be much worse. The Dr's explained to us that it turned and attacked his heart causing myocarditis.