Overview
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle. This can happen as a result of bacterial infection or from the immune system attacking its own heart tissue. Symptoms include chest pain, difficulty breathing, and irregular heartbeat. Myocarditis is often misdiagnosed as an anxiety attack and treated incorrectly with unnecessary medications. In this article, I will cover the symptoms, causes, and diagnosis of myocarditis.
-Symptoms
Chest pain is usually the first sign of myocarditis. This pain can also be caused by panic attacks, anxiety, or heart disease. The pain can initially be mild but becomes severe and spreads to other parts of the chest. Once it has reached full strength it may invade to other areas around the body, including the neck and arms. Myocarditis can also cause fatigue and shortness of breath while resting or even while walking up stairs or walking around a store aisle. If you experience these symptoms, see your doctor immediately.
1.After a few weeks, the pain goes away and returns whenever you start to feel better, although it can seem as though it is getting worse every time.
2.The pain is never anywhere else but the chest and sometimes your shoulder blades also ache.
3.You have other major health problems that could cause this type of symptoms and it takes you a long time to explain them to your doctor.
4.Your heart beats fast for no apparent reason during the night when you are at rest or even when walking up stairs, although this does not happen in all cases of myocarditis
5.You also have other symptoms.
6.Your doctor also has to be careful because you have another major health problem that could cause this kind of symptoms and it takes you a long time to explain it to your doctor.
7.You have other symptoms and your doctor might even ask you to go for an ECG but you do not have any of these problems.
8.You can feel better after some days or weeks as the pain goes away and returns whenever a minor illness occurs in your body.
There are no tests for myocarditis, therefore seeing a doctor is often not an option that patients with myocarditis consider unless they have extreme pain or have been told by their doctors that they need to get one. Some doctors can feel that myocarditis is not a major health problem and therefore they do not consider the diagnosis of this disease in the first place, which can delay treatment.
causes of myocarditis include the following:
-Infection.
Infections such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi that affect the body in some way can cause myocarditis. These infections are often a result of a person's general health or something that they have been exposed to or eaten.
bacterial myocarditis is caused by either staphylococcus (staph) bacteria, streptococcus bacteria or even e coli bacteria. Sometimes another condition that is slowing down the heart can allow these germs to stick to it and infect it. The infection could also be a result of any number of other conditions including alcoholism, liver problems, physical trauma and more.
-Environmental.
Certain environmental factors play a big part in causing myocarditis and other diseases of the heart. This could include air pollution, harmful chemicals in the air or water, or even electrical shocks from lightning.
-Genetic.
Unhealthy or premature births can lead to an increase in risk for myocarditis and other heart problems due to the baby's inability to fight off some infections that can lead to heart problems later in life. This often leads to health problems and death by age 20 if left untreated (See Genes, DNA and Inheritance). Plants, animals and humans all share genes, which means that they are more likely than not related through common ancestry (See Evolution).
-Social.
Social factors factor in to the development of certain heart diseases and disorders, including myocarditis. Social problems can include pregnancy before age 12, sexual abuse or rape, physical or emotional neglect and poverty. Addictions to drugs, alcohol or tobacco are also associated with a variety of health issues including myocarditis (See Smoking).
-Stress.
Stress, mental and emotional stress can lead to a host of health issues such as asthma and other respiratory problems, autoimmune diseases and even myocarditis (see Stress Management). The body's hormones can be affected by stress leading to changes in blood pressure and cholesterol levels that increase the risk for heart disease (see Hormones - Hormonal Diseases).
-Medications.
Some medications, including over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen, can cause myocarditis while others can make symptoms of myocarditis worse. Prescription medications, including antibiotics and synthetic hormones, can cause this disease as well. Taking pills with an empty stomach or taking a lot of pills at once can also trigger an attack (see Medications).
-Unknown Causes.
Myocarditis is unknown in many cases because it does not seem to have a clear or identifiable cause, which usually makes doctors reluctant to take the time to try to identify what might be causing the illness in some patients.
Complications:
There are no direct complications to myocarditis, but it can lead to other problems if left untreated.
-Heart Failure.
Myocarditis causes the heart to lose muscle, which reduces its ability to pump blood throughout the body. Eventually, this problem can become so severe that fluid starts to collect in the lungs and abdomen, leading to heart failure. Heart failure is dangerous because it puts a patient at a greater risk for other health issues including infections and stroke.
-Heart Attack.
In most cases of myocarditis, heart attack occurs after surgery or a heart catheterization. The heart attack itself is caused by the inflamed, damaged muscles in the heart. Heart attack victims are also at greater risk for strokes and other diseases including cancer as well as a host of other problems that include infections and mental health issues.
-Death.
If left untreated, myocarditis often leads to death. Certain situations that are life threatening such as heart failure or a major stroke can sometimes be prevented through aggressive treatment (see Controlling Death). However, many things can become serious enough to cause death by themselves long before myocarditis leads to symptoms that could lead an affected person to seek out medical help (see Causes).
-Health Problems.
Myocarditis can also lead to other health problems including heart failure, stroke and more. Heart failure can cause fluid to build up in the lungs and abdomen, making it difficult to breathe or eat without vomiting. Stroke is an injury to the brain or spinal cord caused by a lack of blood flow, which can be triggered by a number of issues including myocarditis.
-Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). A lot of patients with myocarditis do not have symptoms that are severe enough to make them seek out medical help in the first place, so doctors often only discover that they have this disease after their deaths occur for unknown reasons.
-Diagnosis & treatment
The main tests for myocarditis are:
ECG and an Echocardiogram.
An ECG will confirm a rapid heart rate, but it won't tell you if it's caused by anxiety or an actual heart problem like myocarditis. This is why you may need an Echocardiogram to confirm the heart problem. This can tell you how well your heart is working, what kind of heart problems you might have, and if it's caused by myocarditis, but it can also show other problems like a blood clot which could cause the rapid rate heartbeat. In addition to this, an Echocardiogram will also show if you have a leaking heart valve so that your doctor can treat it and make sure that there are no dangerous areas in the heart where the infection or other problem could stay.
Therefore, if you feel that you might have myocarditis or any other serious pain in the chest or even chest pain in general, please see a doctor immediately so they can confirm the diagnosis and treat whatever is causing it.
-When to see a doctor?
If you feel that you might have any kind of heart pain, please see a doctor immediately because this can be dangerous and lead to various heart problems in the future. Many patients with myocarditis often neglect to seek medical treatment because the symptoms are misdiagnosed as anxiety attacks or panic attacks and they are treated with unnecessary medications that can lead to increased anxiety and panic attacks.
Prevention:
The most important thing that you can do to avoid the development of myocarditis is to avoid contracting an infection in the first place. Keep your immune system healthy and strong so it is able to fight off any infection or disease before it gets out of hand. This means making sure that you are eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins including fish and chicken. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs since these can all have a negative impact on your overall health. Avoid unnecessary stress in your life, even good stress like exercise can be stressful for your heart if you aren't used to it. Get plenty of sleep, exercise and do whatever you can to stay healthy.
Allow your doctor to help you in determining if you have myocarditis and how it could be possible for your to prevent additional attacks and treat them before they become dangerous. Please note that prevention is the key to avoiding many serious heart problems such as myocarditis.
-Current Treatments for Myocarditis
There are currently no medicines or drugs that can be given to patients with myocarditis because there is no known cause for the disease. Patients need to work with their doctor in order to develop a plan that will help them treat symptoms when they occur and possibly keep these symptoms from getting worse. This can include a variety of symptoms depending on which possible cause is the root cause.
Many patients with myocarditis will often experience severe chest pain. This type of pain, that doesn't always go away, is the most dangerous and must be treated immediately with medication. It's important to remember, though, that chest pain is not all in your head so please seek medical attention immediately because it could lead to other serious problems and even death if left untreated.
-What You Need to Know?
Myocarditis is not a major health problem for some people, but it does require seeing a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. If you have extreme chest pain or even chest pain in general, please see your doctor immediately so they can confirm the diagnosis and treat whatever is causing it. If you feel that you might have any kind of heart pain, please see a doctor immediately because this can be dangerous and lead to various heart problems in the future. Many patients with myocarditis often neglect to seek medical treatment because the symptoms are misdiagnosed as anxiety attacks or panic attacks and they are treated with unnecessary medications that can lead to increased anxiety and panic attacks. If you feel that you are experiencing symptoms of myocarditis, please see your doctor immediately.
1.Cardiology is the branch of medicine that deals with heart problems, including myocarditis.
2.A heart attack is different from myocarditis because it occurs when there is a blockage in one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart.
3.Myocarditis refers to inflammation of the heart muscle itself, while angina refers to pain in the chest caused by reduced blood flow to this part of the heart muscle itself.
4.Myocarditis can be caused by various diseases or conditions, but most often it's caused by viral infections or even stress and anxiety.
5.If you have myocarditis, you will feel pain in the chest.
6.Usually myocarditis causes the heart to beat too fast or irregularly, or it can cause the heart to beat too slowly.
7.Myocarditis can be caused by viruses such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis to name a few of the most common ones but it can also be caused by stress and anxiety, allergies, a cough or asthma, and even trauma to the chest area.
8.Myocarditis is often misdiagnosed as other diseases such as panic attacks, anxiety disorders, bacterial infections and even heart attacks.
9.Many patients with myocarditis neglect to seek medical treatment because the symptoms are misdiagnosed as anxiety attacks or panic attacks and they are treated with unnecessary medications that can lead to increased anxiety and panic attacks.
10.If you are experiencing any kind of chest pain, especially if you feel a squeezing, tightness or pressure in your chest along with heart palpitations of extra heart beats, please see a doctor immediately so they can confirm the diagnosis and treat whatever is causing it.
pembrolizumab myocarditis: A Case Series of Unilateral Myocarditis in a Patient Receiving Binovætin
