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Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle.
It may appear as a primary disease in adults or as a degenerative disease of old age.
Causes & Development
Myocarditis may be a complication during or after various viral, bacterial, or parasitic infectious diseases, such as polio, influenza, rubella or rheumatic fever. The most common cause is a viral infection, the most common virus being an enterovirus.
It is often caused by diseases such as syphilis, goiter, endocarditis or hypertension.
Signs & Symptoms
In cases of acute myocarditis, individuals may experience fever as well as the symptoms of chronic myocarditis, i.e. chest pains, palpitations, shortness of breath and fatigue.
Prognosis; Complications
Over many years, a chronic enterovirus heart infection and the body's response to that infection can lead to irreversible heart muscle damage and heart failure. Some cases of myocarditis may progress to congestive heart failure.
Myocarditis can contribute to dilation (enlargement due to weakness of the heart muscle) or hypertrophy (overgrowth of the muscle tissue).
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Signs, symptoms & indicators of Myocarditis:
Conditions that suggest Myocarditis:
Recommendations and treatments for Myocarditis: | | | | | Drug |  Conventional Drug Avoidance | Hypersensitivity myocarditis has been associated with the use of methyldopa, hydrochlorothiazide, ampicillin, furosemide, digoxin, tetracycline, aminophylline, phenytoin, benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants. [Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, August, 1991;115: pp.764-9] |
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Mineral |
Calcium-2AEP| | Dr. Hans Nieper, in Germany, developed Calcium EAP. He considers it a sort of cell membrane sealant which protects cell membranes from toxins and immune system aggression without inhibiting the transport of nutrients into the cell. According to Dr.Nieper, electron microscopy - carried out in a German university - confirmed this. Dr. Nieper used it to treat cases of myocarditis among other conditions. |
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KEY | | Weak or unproven link |  | | Strong or generally accepted link |  | | Proven definite or direct link |  | | Very strongly or absolutely counter-indicative | | | May do some good |
GLOSSARY
Acute
An illness or symptom of sudden onset, which generally has a short duration.
Antidepressant (Antidepressants)
Literally, substances meant to oppose depressions or sadness, and generally heterocyclic types such as Elavil, MAO inhibitors like phenelzine, or lithium carbonate. This category of substances formerly included stuff like amphetamines and other stimulants. Botanical examples include Hypericum, Peganum and Oplopanax.
Bacteria (Bacterial, Bacterium)
Microscopic germs. Some bacteria are "harmful" and can cause disease, while other "friendly" bacteria protect the body from harmful invading organisms.
Calcium
The body's most abundant mineral. Its primary function is to help build and maintain bones and teeth. The body also needs calcium to carry nerve signals, keep the heart functioning, contract muscles, clot blood and maintain healthy skin. Calcium helps control blood acid-alkaline balance, plays a role in cell division, muscle growth and iron utilization, activates certain enzymes, and helps transport nutrients through cell membranes. Calcium also forms a cellular cement called ground substance that helps hold cells and tissues together.
Chronic (Chronicity)
Usually referring to chronic illness: Illness extending over a long period of time.
Congestive
Pertaining to accumulation of blood or fluid within a vessel or organ.
Goiter (Goitre)
A chronic enlargement of the thyroid gland (visible between the Adam's apple and the collarbone at the front of the neck) produced by the body in an attempt to increase hormone production from limited amount of iodine. It is not due to cancerous growth.
Hypertension
High blood pressure. Hypertension increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure because it adds to the workload of the heart, causing it to enlarge and, over time, to weaken; in addition, it may damage the walls of the arteries.
Hypertrophy
Increase in the size of an organ due to enlargement of its cells; frequently with a corresponding increase in functional capacity.
Immune System (Immune Response, Immunity)
A complex that protects the body from disease organisms and other foreign bodies. The system includes the humoral immune response and the cell-mediated response. The immune system also protects the body from invasion by making local barriers and inflammation. The process may involve acquired immunity (the ability to learn and remember a specific infectious agent), or innate immunity (the genetically programmed system of responses that attack, digest, remove, and initiate inflammation and tissue healing).
Myocarditis
Inflammation of heart muscle. It can be mild, with virtually no noticeable symptoms, or more serious, leading to weakening of the heart muscle. It can then cause heart failure (with symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue, fluid accumulation in the lungs, etc.) as well as heart rhythm irregularities from inflammation and/or scarring of the electrical system of the heart.
Parasite (Parasites, Parasitic, Parasitical)
An organism living in or on another organism.
Pathology (Pathologist)
Disease, particularly one with clear and obvious changes in structure or function; the study of same.
Syphilis
A sexually-transmitted disease, with symptoms in the early contagious stages being a sore on the genitalia, a rash, patches of flaking tissue, fever, a sore throat, and sores in the mouth or anus.
Virus (Viri, Viruses)
Any of a vast group of minute structures composed of a protein coat and a core of DNA and/or RNA that reproduces in the cells of the infected host. Capable of infecting all animals and plants, causing devastating disease in immunocompromised individuals. Viruses are not affected by antibiotics, and are completely dependent upon the cells of the infected host for the ability to reproduce.
Last updated: May 11, 2008
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