Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Inflammation - heart muscle
Treatment
Treatment is aimed at the cause of the problem, and may involve:
- Antibiotics
- Anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce swelling
- Diuretics to remove excess water from the body
- Low-salt diet
- Reduced activity
If the heart muscle is very weak, your health care provider will prescribe medicines to treat heart failure. Abnormal heart rhythms may require the use of additional medications, a pacemaker, or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. If a blood clot is in the heart chamber, you will also receive blood thinning medicine.
Support Groups
Expectations (prognosis)
How well you do depends on the cause of the problem and your overall health. The outlook varies. Some people may recover completely. Others may have permanent heart failure.
Complications
Cardiomyopathy Heart failure Pericarditis
Calling your health care provider
Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of myocarditis, especially after a recent infection.
Seek immediate medical help if you have severe symptoms or have been diagnosed with myocarditis and have increased:
Chest pain Difficulty breathing Swelling
Previous Section
Review Date: 05/04/2010
Reviewed By: A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, and David R. Eltz.
Previously reviewed by Issam Mikati, MD, Associate Professor of
Medicine. Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University,
Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network
(5/4/2010).
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
