Sports for myocarditis
The most common cause of heart muscle inflammation in otherwise healthy young people is too early and too much exercise after a flu-like infection. If the infection is not sufficiently cured before the strain is resumed, the pathogens that cause colds can attack the heart muscle and cause an inflammatory reaction there. Exercise is only possible to a very limited extent during myocarditis.
In this context, many patients only notice that something is wrong at first, as myocarditis can present itself relatively asymptomatic under resting conditions. The inflammation weakens and limits the function of the heart muscle. The pumping capacity of the heart gradually decreases.
This manifests itself in particular in marked shortness of breath during physical exertion. The further the disease has progressed, the more pronounced the shortness of breath and the lower the upper limit of the body’s ability to cope with stress. Myocarditis is therefore a disease that must be taken seriously. Infections should always be carefully cured and sporting activities should be avoided during the disease phase. Following the infection, physical activity should also be resumed slowly and gently in order to prevent the spread of pathogens in the organism and thus prevent myocarditis.
Symptoms of heart muscle inflammation
The symptoms during the disease are usually very unspecific. Frequent symptoms in mild forms of the disease are similar to a flu-like infection (headache and aching limbs) or manifest themselves in increased tiredness, a performance kink and heart stumbling. Often the disease even remains asymptomatic and therefore undetected and heals without complications.
More severe forms of the disease with symptoms such as pain when breathing in or general pain in the chest area, as well as signs of heart failure are rare. Heart failure is the inability of the heart to supply the body with sufficient oxygen although the lungs are working properly. If an infection of the muscle layer of the heart is caused by microorganisms such as bacteria or viruses, it is called infectious myocarditis.
Furthermore, a pre-existing autoimmune disease (e.g. sarcoidosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, vascular inflammation) can also be responsible for myocarditis. However, if toxic substances are possible causes, they are called toxic myocarditis. Finally, the idiopathic form of myocarditis should be mentioned, in which there is no identifiable cause for the inflammatory process.
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