How to relieve myocarditis pain?

Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
Updated on March 05, 2025
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If a patient is diagnosed with myocarditis, especially viral myocarditis, and experiences chest pain, some analgesic medications can be used, particularly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). If the patient has infective endocarditis or other forms of myocarditis, it is not recommended to use pain-relieving medications due to individual differences, as this may exacerbate symptoms and mask the true condition. For general cases of myocarditis, it is sufficient to use some common NSAIDs. However, it is still important to actively treat the primary disease, control the patient's symptoms, and initially use antiviral medications predominantly, which can also alleviate symptoms. Regular echocardiogram reviews to monitor changes are also necessary.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Is it good to soak your feet if you have myocarditis?

For myocarditis, whether soaking feet is good or bad is irrelevant because soaking feet has no effect on the treatment of myocarditis. For the treatment of myocarditis, there is general treatment and medication treatment. General treatments typically aim to reduce the cardiac load, such as resting and providing easily digestible food rich in vitamins and proteins, and soaking feet offers no benefit in these respects. Additionally, myocarditis should be treated with medications, including diuretics, vasodilators, ACE inhibitors as appropriate. If arrhythmias occur, anti-arrhythmic drugs should be provided, and if a viral infection is confirmed, specific antiviral treatment should be administered. Therefore, soaking feet is not significantly relevant. (Specific medication use should be conducted under the guidance of a doctor.)

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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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Criteria for Diagnosing Myocarditis

The diagnosis of myocarditis is primarily clinical, based on typical precursor symptoms, corresponding clinical manifestations, and physical signs. The precursor symptoms usually occur one to three weeks before the onset, including symptoms of a viral infection such as fever, general fatigue, and muscle soreness, or gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea and vomiting. Subsequently, symptoms such as chest tightness, palpitations, difficulty breathing, and even fainting and sudden death may occur. The physical signs generally include arrhythmias, commonly premature atrial contractions, premature ventricular contractions, or conduction blocks. There may be an increased heart rate which does not correspond to the body temperature, and there could be the presence of second or third heart sounds or gallop rhythm. A minority of patients may show signs of heart failure. Tests can include electrocardiograms, enzymatic studies, or echocardiograms, and magnetic resonance imaging may show symptoms of myocardial injury. To confirm the diagnosis, an endomyocardial biopsy must be performed.

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Written by Xiao Chang Jiang
Cardiology
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What to eat for myocarditis?

For patients who already have myocarditis, what should we feed them? This is a question that confuses many people. In fact, patients with myocarditis should eat high-protein foods, high-vitamin foods, and those that are low in calories or easy to digest, such as a low-salt diet. It is recommended to eat small meals frequently and avoid foods that are spicy, heavily flavored, or irritating. For high-vitamin foods, the main choices include fruits, some vegetables, bean sprouts, kelp, seaweed, and black fungus, all of which are very good options. Low-calorie foods such as cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, job's tears, and papaya are also good choices. High-protein foods include soybeans, peanuts, seaweed, mushrooms, nuts, milk, lean meats, eggs, fish, shrimp, and more. We also recommend easily digestible foods, like millet porridge and noodles, as well as a low-salt diet, recommending a daily salt intake of no more than 3 grams for patients with myocarditis.

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Written by Zhao Le Le
Cardiology
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The causes of myocarditis

The main causes of myocarditis are: First, myocarditis caused by infectious factors, with viral infections being the most common. The most prevalent viral infections include Coxsackie virus, followed by influenza virus, rubella virus, and measles virus. These conditions can all potentially lead to myocarditis. Infections caused by fungi, spirochetes, and particularly bacterial infections such as diphtheria can also trigger myocarditis. Second, myocarditis can be caused by drug allergies and immune hypersensitivity reactions. Allergies to drugs like penicillin and sulfa drugs may cause myocarditis. Third, toxic substances such as lead poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning can also lead to myocarditis. Moreover, patients with connective tissue diseases that affect the myocardium can also develop myocarditis. Therefore, there are many causes of myocarditis, and it is crucial to seek active treatment. Most cases of myocarditis can be cured with standard treatments.