OnHealth Flu-Like Heart Disease Is Curable

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Flu-Like Heart Disease Is Curable

An unusual type of heart disease that mimics the symptoms of the flu

is highly curable as long as doctors are able to diagnose the condition

before it's too late.

The condition is called fulminant myocarditis and is often caused by

an infection, usually viral. It occurs when the muscle of the heart wall

becomes severely inflamed, making the heart weak and unable to pump blood

properly. Patients feel feverish, tired and their muscles ache, but if the

condition goes untreated, it can be fatal.

Researchers at s Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore say

doctors should consider the possibility of fulminant myocarditis in patients

showing flu-like symptoms and who have fluid in their lungs. The disease

only affects one out of 1 million people. Performing an echocardiogram

followed by a heart tissue biopsy can confirm a diagnosis of fulminant

myocarditis.

" This illness has a very rapid progression and consequences are very

dramatic, " says study author Dr. M. Hare. " Patients can die

suddenly. "

Treatments include medications to get the heart pumping, or an

implanted mechanical pump that helps the heart and can be removed in seven

to 10 days, researchers report in the March 9 issue of The New England

Journal of Medicine. Patients usually recover fully in two weeks,

researchers say, and are less likely to need a heart transplant down the

road. These findings are based on 15 patients treated for fulminant

myocarditis; they were compared to 132 patients with acute myocarditis, a

different heart ailment.

Daily Briefings by Katrina Woznicki