A 39-year-old member asked:
what are the symptoms of viral myocarditis?
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Michael Zevitz answered
Internal medicine 37 years experience
Heart failure: Shortness of breath, chest pain, shortness of breath on usual or less than usual exertion, sitting up to breath better, waking up short of breath or gasping for air, swelling in the legs and abdomen, skipped or racing beats of the heart.
5774 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Bac Nguyen answered
Family Medicine 23 years experience
None, some, many: Depending on the severity of the illness, you may not have any noticeable symptoms if very mild. Some may have chest pain, fever/sweat, chills, and shortness of breath. In severe cases, in addition to above, you may get palpitations, passing out, cardiogenic-shock (heart failure to pump) and death. If you have any concerns/symptoms above, consult doc asap. Good luck.
5696 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Similar questions
A 41-year-old member asked:
How long is it take to recover from viral myocarditis?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Barton Cook answered
Pediatric Cardiology 31 years experience
Variable: Severe myocarditis either improves quickly or results in death. Other forms linger for months and eventually resolve. Chronic forms stabilize but never resolve.
6058 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
What are the tests for viral myocarditis?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Michael Zevitz answered
Internal medicine 37 years experience
Two main tests: Echocardiogram (ultrasound) of the heart and biopsy of the heart muscle to confirm viral damage to the muscle tissue.
5774 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
What is the treatment for viral myocarditis?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Michael Zevitz answered
Internal medicine 37 years experience
Several: Mainly vasodilators such as ace inhibitors or angiogtension receptor blockers (arb's), low dose beta blockers, occasionally inotropes such as digoxin, and sometimes vasodilators like calcium channel blockers like Nifedipine or amlodipine or nitrates. In severe cases, the effective short term treatments are left ventricular assist devices, and in life threatening cases, heart transplantation.
5774 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
What is the typical course with viral myocarditis?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Matthias Peuster answered
Pediatric Cardiology 9 years experience
No typical course: There is no typical course. Depends on the etiology (the causative agent), the initial presentation, the age of onset (kids are more likely to respond to immunoglobulin), the response to therapy, viral load etc. Some patients fully recover, some progress to heart failure with need for transplantation.
5740 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
What are the signs and symptoms of viral myocarditis?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Martin Raff answered
Infectious Disease 56 years experience
Complicated: Some may be relatively without symptoms, although there may be fever, chest pains, and signs and symptoms of heart failure (another detailed subject). There may also be changes in heart rate and rhythm. Often the symptoms are not very specific and require detailed testing to establish the diagnosis.
5700 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Last updated Jan 6, 2016
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