Understanding and Preventing Myocarditis

Myocarditis is a disease that is characterized by an inflammation of the heart muscles. This condition is usually caused by virus infection like an echovirus, adenovirus, and the coxsackie virus. It may also develop after acquiring diseases like rubella, polio, or influenza. Patients who develop myocarditis have observable weakened and inflamed heart muscles.

The Symptoms of Myocarditis
The first symptom of this disease is associated with its preceding viral disease, such as the ones stated above. In line with that, fever may also develop and eventually severe chest pains are felt. The episode is so painful that it resembles a heart attack.

There would also be pains and swelling in the joints, particularly in the leg area. They would also find it hard to lie flat because they would have difficulty in breathing when they do so. Patients will also feel that their hearts are not beating normally as palpitations would occur. They will also observe that they get tired so easily and becomes short of breath even after a mild exercise or physical activity.

Diagnosing Myocarditis
To diagnose this disease, several tests have to be performed. First off, a physical examination would show changes in the rhythm of the heart of the patient. There would also be observable abnormal heartbeats and sounds. Fluid retention both in the lungs and the leg area are also observed.

For a fuller diagnosis, patients are asked to undergo electrocardiograms and chest x-rays. An ultrasound of the heart, or more particularly an echocardiogram, may also be requested so doctors will see how weak the heart muscle is and if the heart is enlarged due to the fluid accumulating it.

Blood tests may also be performed so that both the white blood cells and red blood cells are counted. In the presence of any viral diseases and infections, blood cultures are needed as well. A biopsy of the heart muscles may be done too, but doctors do this quite rarely.

Treatment of Myocarditis
The treatment of myocarditis relies greatly on its underlying causes. First off, doctors would require the patient not to do extraneous exercises and activities any longer. They would also ask their patients to stay clear of salty food and stick to a low-sodium diet.

As for drugs, steroids are prescribed to patient with whom skin inflammations are observed. And to reduce the body’s tendency to retain fluid, diuretics are given. Diuretic are drugs that remove the water from the body through urination.

For patient whose hearts are weak, medicines to address and prevent heart failures are given. Those who are prone to blood clots in their hearts will be given blood-thinning medicines such as warfarin. The patients who have an abnormal rhythm of the heart are given additional therapy, including a pacemaker.

Preventing Myocarditis
To prevent myocarditis, the occurrence of viral, parasitic, and bacterial diseases have to be avoided. Today, several vaccines are available so children won’t develop these diseases anymore that could lead to other heart problems like myocarditis.

And when these diseases do show, a prompt and proper treatment has to be performed. It is important that your health care provider is consulted accordingly, especially if the symptoms associated to the disease become severe. It is not right to ignore chest pains, any swelling in your body, and the instances wherein you had difficulty in breathing. These could very well develop into a heart problem if not addressed early on.

The complications associated to myocarditis are heart failure, pericarditis, and cardiomyopathy. Pericarditis is an inflammation of the heart’s sac-like covering while cardiomyopathy is the weakening of the heart muscles.