Inflammation of the heart

When an organ in the body isaffected by some pathogen and gets infected, the inflammation of that organ occursas the first symptom. Any organ in the human body can become inflamed whencertain microorganisms or other factors affect it. Myocarditis is the medical name forthe condition when the heart is inflammed.

Causes of heart inflammation

The causes responsible for the inflammationof the heart are numerous. It is observed that in the majority of cases theheart gets inflamed due to various kinds of arthritis, which tend to causeinflammation not only of the heart but also of many other organs in the body. Extremely fast or slow heart rate, aswell as lefts side heart failure may lead to the occurrence of the heartinflammation. Furthermore, dyspnea, pulmonaryedema, tuberculosis and gonorrhea are some of the medical conditions that arevery likely to cause the inflammation of the heart. Other health conditionsthat are also regarded to be the causative factors of the heart inflammationare tetanus, heart disease and Chagas’ disease.

The use of certain drugs,heart surgery and radiation therapy may also induce the inflammation of ourmost important organ. There are cases when myocarditisis caused by systemic lupus, sarcoidosis and Lyme disease as well as byrheumatic fever, fibromyalgia and even pregnancy.

Symptoms of heart inflammation

When one contracts heartinflammation, he/she may experience a number of warning signs, such as pain inthe shoulders, pain in the joints, stiffness and swelling of the joints, shortnessof breath and heart palpitation. Furthermore, the heart inflammation may causefatigue, neck muscle pain and pain in the lower back, as well as bursitis andarthritis.

Diagnosing and treatment of heartinflammation

To diagnose the heart inflammation, thedoctor should first recognize the symptoms of this condition in patient. Then,the doctor should be informed about the medical history of the patient andafter several tests are done, the heart inflammation can be diagnosed.

This condition is a very serious oneand the treatment depends on the severity of the condition. If some viruses andbacteria are responsible for the occurrence of this condition, the doctor will prescribeantibiotics and recommend ample of rest and relaxation. In moresevere cases other medications are given to the patient depending on theunderlying cause. However, sometimes even the heart transplantation isnecessary since the heart is damaged and the transplantation is the onlyoption.