Cardiac MRI use in the diagnosis of acute infectious myocarditis

Abstract

Viral myocarditis is a prevalent disease amongst endemic nations. With increased opportunity of travel, and warmer climates for arthropod-vectors to spread, infectious myocarditis incidence is likely to rise as well. Acute manifestations of myocarditis include fevers, generalized weakness, myalgias, and arthralgias. While death is rare, long-term morbidity related to acute complications plus chronic cardiac structural changes can occur. No current guidelines for long-term myocarditis follow-up and designated treatment strategies exist, and future work in these areas is required.