Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) can have both an infectious and a non-infectious cause. The most common trigger of so-called myocarditis is primarily viral pathogens. The viral pathogens are followed only in second place by bacterial pathogens.
The disease often begins slowly and insidiously and is therefore often noticed by the affected patient only late. The symptoms are initially very unspecific and manifest themselves, for example, as fatigue and palpitations and may not be interpreted correctly. In contrast to many other diseases, myocarditis often takes a very long time to fully recover. It is a serious illness and can have serious consequences if left untreated, and in some cases can even be fatal.
Duration of the disease
The average duration of a heart muscle inflammation is usually around five to six weeks. In some patients, however, an inflammation of the heart muscle can last considerably longer and then even last two months. Like many other diseases, the duration of myocarditis naturally depends on the person affected.
Depending on how old the patient is, how healthy or which previous illnesses the patient has, the duration of the illness of a heart muscle inflammation naturally changes. Older people, who may also have other serious pre-existing conditions, may be more affected by the disease than young healthy patients. In addition, the extent of the inflammation and the associated damage to the heart muscle cells naturally also plays a significant role in the duration of the disease. It is therefore extremely important to correctly interpret the signs of the disease as early as possible in order to treat the disease at an early stage. The course of a heart muscle inflammation is therefore very variable and varies from person to person.
Duration of healing
It is difficult to say how quickly and from when on a heart muscle inflammation is actually completely healed. Even though you may feel completely healthy and fit again after a relatively quick period of recovery and rest, this does not mean that the heart muscle and its surrounding tissue have already fully recovered and regenerated. This can take several weeks longer than the existing symptoms such as fatigue and listlessness.
Even during this time, you should take it easy and avoid sports activities and physical exertion. Otherwise, this can lead to the healing process being delayed and significantly prolonged. In the worst case, the illness can become worse again and then possibly lead to consequences that cannot be reversed.
For many patients it takes several weeks until they feel physically as fit as they felt before the onset of the disease. Frequently, those affected notice above all a rapid fatigue in everyday activities such as climbing stairs or shopping. In the case of mild forms of myocarditis, the focus is on physical rest and avoiding alcohol and cigarettes.
Physical rest in this case means not only abstaining from sports, but also from other heavy physical exertion such as carrying heavy things or cleaning the apartment. Due to the strict bed rest, the risk of developing a thrombosis, i.e. a blood clot in his veins, is significantly increased, so that during this time thrombosis prophylaxis with anticoagulant medication must be carried out. Excitement and stress, just like physical activity, can also lead to extra effort and thus to increased strain on the heart.
Therefore, the patient should make sure that he/she is not exposed to any or at least little stress during the period of recovery. If an inflammation of the heart muscle has led to severe damage to the heart muscle, so that it is weakened and so-called cardiac insufficiency develops as a result, then drugs are used in the therapy. Heart failure resulting from inflammation of the heart muscle is treated in the same way as heart failure independent of myocarditis.
These drugs include beta-blockers, which are usually well known in the population and lower blood pressure and reduce the heart rate. In addition, affected patients can be treated with so-called ACE inhibitors. These drugs also have an influence on blood pressure and have a positive effect on the heart muscle cells.If a heart muscle inflammation is caused by a bacterial pathogen, antibiotic therapy suitable for the pathogen should be started immediately.
Autoimmune diseases can also occasionally trigger myocarditis. However, antibiotics should not be used in this case, as they have no effect on the disease. In the case of an autoimmune cause of heart muscle inflammation, so-called immunosuppressants, which are intended to dampen the body’s defensive reaction against itself, are used.
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