Symptoms of heart muscle inflammation
If heart muscle inflammation is suspected, it is best to avoid increased physical strain and to refrain from doing sports. Normally, the heart does considerably more work during sports or during increased physical exertion in order to transport more oxygen to the individual organs. However, since the heart is attacked and damaged by inflammation of the heart muscle, the heart can no longer perform this extra work.
In the worst case, this can lead to acute heart failure. It is possible that at the beginning of myocarditis you will notice it mainly during increased physical exertion or during sporting activities, as the heart has to work harder. The first symptoms that the affected patient notices may be, for example, unusually rapid fatigue under training conditions that are otherwise normal for the patient.
It is possible that the patient may need considerably more time for his or her usual jogging round or may only be able to complete half of the distance. Another symptom can be sudden shortness of breath. Pain in the limbs during exercise can also be a symptom of heart muscle inflammation. The patient may also feel an increased risk of heart stumbling during sports.
Consequences of heart muscle inflammation
The consequences of sports despite myocarditis can be manifold and range from the uncomplicated healing of the inflammation to the loss of a large part of the heart function. The performance of a heart is measured by how much blood can be circulated by the contraction of the heart and also how well the heart can respond to exertion by increasing its pumping function. If myocarditis is not cured sufficiently, permanent damage to heart muscle cells occurs.
The more these cells die, the greater the functional impairment of the heart. The heart is no longer able to circulate the physiological amount of blood – approx. 70ml per heartbeat – and a so-called cardiac insufficiency develops, in which the blood backs up into the body and water deposits in the body, so-called edemas, occur. A reaction of the heart to a greater strain, such as strenuous sport, is no longer possible for these patients and in the worst case can lead to cardiac arrhythmia or even cardiac arrest.
