Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease in which heart muscle gets inflamed. It affects the middle layer of the heart muscle. It affects the pumping action of the heart and electrical conductivity of the heart. Its causes involve bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infection, allergic reactions by environmental chemicals like lead, medicines like penicillin, illegal drugs like cocaine, etc and autoimmunity reactions. Its symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscular pain, joint pain, swelling in the lower legs, abnormal heartbeats, and many more. It is detected from diagnostic tests like a blood test, ECG, EKG, and many others.
How Long Does It Take To Recover From Myocarditis?
The outlook of Myocarditis is good. The time it takes to recover from Myocarditis is different in a different people. It depends on some factors like-
Causes- the underlying cause decides the recovery time from Myocarditis. If myocarditis is caused by an infection, then the patients recover fast. For instance, viral Myocarditis is mild and it is not likely to proceed to serious complication and improves fast on its own to complete recovery without any damage to the heart.
Severity- mild Myocarditis heal earlier but if the disease has progressed to complications, the recovery period increases and treatment methods take time to subside the symptoms. In severe cases, the disease may cause permanent heart damage that makes the disease more difficult to treat and heart transplantation becomes a necessity to save a life.
General Health Condition – healthy adults can get rid of Myocarditis earlier than those who have low immunity. Healthy adults recover completely in cases of uncomplicated Myocarditis. He also improves soon if he develops Myocarditis related echocardiogram and electrocardiogram abnormalities.
The recovery from Myocarditis may take place in a few weeks if the cases are complication free. If the inflammatory changes and damage to the heart occur in Myocarditis, then it takes more time to get rid of the disease. It may take a few months to a year In rare cases, it may cause serious, permanent and irreversible changes in the heart muscle. It results in cardiac failure that may be corrected with long-term medical care or heart transplantation.(1)
Although the prognosis of Myocarditis is good, it can reoccur again. However, their chance to reoccur is very low. The treatment options are selected according to the symptoms and their severity.
When a heart gets inflamed, then this condition is called Myocarditis. This disease specifically affects the middle layer of the heart muscle that encloses the entire heart. It affects the contraction and relaxation of the heart that disrupts the pumping action of the heart; when the heart is unable to pump blood to the rest of the body, the oxygen level drops in the body leading to various symptoms. Most symptoms are similar to those of Flu.
The inflammation in Myocarditis is induced by infection in the other body parts that may travel to the heart. The organisms that can cause infections in the heart are virus, bacteria, fungi or parasites. The inflammation can also be triggered by certain medicines, illegal drugs, chemicals, radiation, etc. It is also caused by autoimmunity or diseases like lupus, scleroderma, etc.
Myocarditis does not show the symptoms in some cases. Mild myocarditis can resolve on their own without treatment. When it exhibits symptoms, it involve discomfort and painful sensation in the chest, abnormal heart rhythms, difficulty in the breathing, shortness of breath aggravated when physical activity is performed or even at rest, fluid retention in feet, ankles, legs, fever, muscle pain, joint pain, soreness in the throat and others similar to flu.(2)
Conclusion
Myocarditis has positive outlook or prognosis. The patient’s recovery from this disease is dependent on the underlying cause, severity, and health of the patient. The recovery period of mild Myocarditis ranges from few days to few weeks. Myocarditis with complications may take a few months to a year or more for a complete recovery with long-term medical treatment.
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