Myocarditis

Overview :

Most cases of myocarditis in the United States originate from a virus, and the disease may remain undiagnosed by doctors due to its general lack of initial symptoms. The disease may also present itself as an acute, catastrophic illness that requires immediate treatment. Although the inflammation or degeneration of the heart muscle that myocarditis causes may be fatal, this disease often goes undetected. It may also disguise itself as ischemic, valvular, or hypertensive heart disease.

An inflammation of the heart muscle may occur as an isolated disorder or be the dominating feature of a systemic disease (one that affects the whole body, like systemic lupus erythematosus).