the recurrence rate of myocarditis

Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
Updated on February 08, 2025
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The most common type of myocarditis clinically seen is viral myocarditis, which is a localized or diffuse cardiac injury resulting from viral infections. Mild myocardial damage, when treated effectively under the guidance of a doctor, typically does not recur after recovery. Recurrence referred to involves serious myocardial damage, or lack of systematic treatment, leading to complications such as heart failure and arrhythmias. These complications often exacerbate under certain triggering factors like infections, colds, excessive fatigue, emotional excitement, overeating, constipation, etc., increasing the cardiac load and causing the recurrence of heart failure and arrhythmias.

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Written by Xiao Chang Jiang
Cardiology
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Early manifestations of myocarditis

What are the early symptoms of myocarditis? In fact, most patients with myocarditis typically exhibit acute onset of symptoms, which generally occur 1 to 3 weeks after cardiac involvement, or they may simultaneously exhibit various degrees of viral infection symptoms such as fever, sore throat, cough, general malaise, muscle pain, skin rash, or nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. These are its prodromal symptoms. Additionally, some patients exhibit systemic viral infection symptoms when the disease occurs, such as rubella, measles, epidemic mumps, viral hepatitis, and other diseases. Since the recovery rate of myocarditis in the acute and recovery phases is significantly higher than in the lingering or chronic phases, it is evident that treatment for myocarditis should be initiated as early as possible to increase the recovery rate.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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How is myocarditis detected?

The diagnosis of myocarditis includes several aspects: The electrocardiogram may show STT changes, or various arrhythmias. Chest radiography may reveal an enlarged cardiac silhouette, while an echocardiogram may be normal or show left ventricular enlargement. Magnetic resonance imaging may show myocardial edema or congestion. Biochemical examinations may reveal elevated levels of troponin and myocardial enzymes, as well as increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. Additional diagnostic methods include etiological examinations, which can identify viral infections through blood or stool samples. Furthermore, endocarditis or myocardial biopsy can provide definitive diagnosis.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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post-myocarditis syndrome

Patients with myocarditis generally have a self-limiting condition; it can heal completely without any treatment. However, sometimes, some myocarditis cases are fulminant, leading to acute heart failure or sudden death. For self-limiting diseases, since the condition is relatively mild, not receiving timely treatment can leave sequelae, such as some dilated cardiomyopathies, which are often due to the transformation from myocarditis. Therefore, for patients with myocarditis, we should follow up and conduct regular reviews to avoid the occurrence of dilated cardiomyopathy.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Does myocarditis cause a fever?

Myocarditis is an inflammatory heart disease, commonly caused by viral infections, with the Coxsackievirus being the most common. Other infections, such as bacterial, fungal, and Rickettsia, can also cause myocarditis. These infectious myocarditis cases generally show preliminary symptoms of infection, such as fever, in the 1 to 3 weeks before the onset of the disease. Fever indicates a high body temperature, which means the same as having a fever. However, there are also non-infectious forms of myocarditis, such as those caused by drugs, radiation, or connective tissue diseases, and these non-infectious types of myocarditis do not always involve a fever.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Obvious symptoms of myocarditis

Myocarditis refers to the inflammatory disease of the myocardium, with viral infection being the most common cause. Therefore, the majority of patients exhibit precursor symptoms of a viral infection one to three weeks before onset, such as fever, general fatigue, muscle soreness, or gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea and vomiting. This may be followed by palpitations, chest discomfort, chest pain, difficulty breathing, edema, and even fainting or sudden death. In the clinical diagnosis of myocarditis, the majority of cases initially present with symptoms of arrhythmias such as palpitations or a racing heart, but a minority may also experience fainting or Adams-Stokes syndrome (also known as cardiogenic cerebral ischemia).