Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle.

See also: Pediatric myocarditis

Inflammation - heart muscle

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 (edema) in 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)
• Red blood cell count
• Ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram)
• White blood cell count

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.

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.

• Cardiomyopathy
• Heart failure
• Pericarditis

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

Promptly treating conditions that cause myocarditis may reduce the risk.

Liu P, Baughman KL. Myocarditis. In: Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, Libby P, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 70.

McKenna W. Diseases of the myocardium and endocardium. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 60.