Symptoms of heart muscle inflammation

In most cases, myocarditis shows no symptoms whatsoever and therefore often remains undetected. However, even in symptomatic cases, there are no leading symptoms that could help to clearly determine the cause of the symptoms. Non-specific symptoms such as tiredness and fever, general malaise, heart stumbling (palpitations) and shortness of breath are usually in the foreground, depending on the extent of the disease.

In more than half of the cases, a flu-like infection precedes the disease. In 60 – 70% of those affected, signs of cardiac insufficiency may appear, and in 5 – 10% more serious cardiovascular disorders occur. Heart failure is defined as the pathological inability of the heart to supply the body with sufficient oxygen from the lungs without a significant increase in blood pressure.

The main symptom here is shortness of breath, especially under stress. Edema (accumulation of water) in the legs can occur. In 10-30% of cases, chest pain occurs, which can be similar to the pain of coronary heart disease (CHD) with narrowed coronary arteries.

Furthermore, 5 – 15% of patients complain of cardiac arrhythmia. Since other diseases of the heart can also be accompanied by these symptoms and myocarditis can sometimes take a severe course, further diagnosis, including ECG and imaging procedures, is important. Myocarditis can be accompanied by chest pain.

Usually, these pains are very unspecific and only indicate a general problem of the heart. Therefore, it is often initially suspected that the coronary arteries are diseased or that a heart attack has occurred.However, pain is not necessarily present in heart muscle inflammation. Instead, the only signs are usually a drop in performance and increased fatigue.

The lower the inflammation of the heart muscle, the more unspecific the symptoms become. Pain in myocarditis therefore suggests a severe course. Myocarditis can occur in conjunction with fever or without elevated body temperatures.

Usually, myocarditis is the result of a cold or flu. In order to fight off the pathogens, the body raises its temperature. The more aggressive the germs are, the higher the fever tends to rise. However, since even comparatively harmless pathogens can cause myocarditis, the absence of fever does not rule out such an inflammation of the heart muscle.