Does an MRI of the heart make sense in case of myocarditis?
An MRI of the heart is useful if there is already a suspicion of a heart muscle inflammation. With the help of the MRI, the severity of the disease can be better assessed. In particular, disorders of the pumping function and movements of the heart wall can be examined in detail.
The force that the heart can exert is also measured in an MRI. In this way, the overall functionality of the heart muscles can be assessed, as well as the functionality of individual sections of the wall. Thus, MRI is not the first choice in diagnostics. However, the necessity of different therapeutic measures can be evaluated more precisely with the MRI.
Can I detect myocarditis by listening?
It is almost impossible to diagnose myocarditis by listening alone. This is due to the fact that often no special features are noticed during the examination. If something conspicuous is found, it is usually a matter of very unspecific signs, which can also have another cause.Inflammations of the heart muscle are often accompanied by cardiac dysrhythmia. These can be found when listening, especially in systole (the tense phase of the heart). In addition, pericardial rubbing (the rubbing of the two leaves of the pericardium) may be audible if the pericardium is affected by the inflammation.
How can heart muscle inflammation be detected in children?
In many cases, it is more difficult to detect myocarditis in children than in adults. Myocarditis occurs after about five percent of viral infections. Since children are particularly prone to infections and colds, they have an increased risk of myocarditis.
For this reason, children should pay particular attention to heart-specific signs of disease. Especially in children, the early stages of the disease are quite mild, so that it is often indistinguishable from a simple cold. One should be very alert if the children are still flabby, tired and less able to perform even after the infection has subsided.
If the disease is not detected in time, permanent damage to the heart can occur. For this reason, especially after infections with fever, a break from sport of about one week should be observed. If a child is suspected of having heart muscle inflammation, this child goes through the same diagnostic steps as any adult patient. The signs are the same: Fatigue and reduced performance, possible occurrence of cardiac arrhythmia, water retention, etc.
