The temperature in spring is unpredictable, sometimes warm and breezy, sometimes cold and windy, this high and low temperature makes some people with weak immune system very distressed, a little negligence will suffer from the cold. Many people don’t care about the cold, thinking it is a minor problem, and work or play all night long.
How can a cold develop into viral myocarditis?
It is not surprising that a cold can easily turn into pneumonia. But how can a cold and myocarditis, one being a respiratory disease and the other a heart disease, look completely out of sync, be linked together? Viral colds and diarrhea are very common, and when the virus invades the body, in addition to producing a series of “upper sensory” symptoms, the virus invades the body’s bloodstream and invades the body’s heart muscle cells or interstitial matrix, resulting in varying degrees of cardiac dysfunction and a series of systemic symptoms. People of all ages can develop the disease, but not everyone with a cold will develop myocarditis, the main population is concentrated in young adults, children of this age do not have strong resistance, and like to run to crowded places, the chance of a cold is very high, if the cold is very serious, there may be “myocardial risk”.
What is viral myocarditis?
Viral myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a virus, which can cause extensive heart damage. Myocarditis is caused by viral damage in the early stages and can be followed by an autoimmune reaction.
1. How it happens.
Most cases of myocarditis extend from the flu. Viral infection and immune deficiency are the main causes of the development of viral myocarditis. There are many viruses that can trigger myocarditis, the vast majority of which are caused by respiratory viral infections, and a few by enterovirus infections. These viruses are more “friendly” to the heart and can reach the heart through the bloodstream and multiply in the myocardial cells, thereby damaging them.
In addition, myocarditis is associated with a decrease in the body’s autoimmune system and abnormal reactions. When the immunity decreases, the body has no way to defend itself against the invasion of the virus, giving it an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and thus wreak havoc in the heart. The body’s immunity itself is supposed to be anti-viral and anti-bacterial, but since the virus invades the heart muscle and changes its structural appearance, the body’s immune system does not recognize the altered heart muscle and mistakes it for a foreign enemy, thus attacking the heart muscle, which results in an autoimmune reaction. In the long run, the heart enlarges and becomes dilated cardiomyopathy. Patients may experience chest tightness and shortness of breath, and in severe cases, heart failure, dyspnea, swollen feet, or severe arrhythmias. Therefore, dilated cardiomyopathy may be due to an immune response caused by a viral infection.
2. Symptoms.
Patients first develop respiratory symptoms, such as fever, generalized aches and pains, and weakness, and get better after a few days of cold, but two weeks later, they suddenly develop heart discomfort, such as chest tightness and panic, and in severe cases, shock and sudden death. There are also some patients who have an emergency onset and belong to fulminant myocarditis, where the patient develops shortness of breath, chest tightness, or arrhythmia at the same time as the cold and fever, and in serious cases, shock and sudden death also occur. If the infection is caused by an intestinal virus, it can be manifested as diarrhea and abdominal pain.
3.After-effects.
(1) More severe patients may suffer from post-cardiomyopathy, which is medically known as “extensible cardiomyopathy”.
(2) Some patients may have sequelae, such as premature beats or conduction block in mild cases.
(3) In more severe cases, patients may develop post-cardiomyopathy, which is known as dilated cardiomyopathy.
5 Tips to Avoid Viral Myocarditis
1. Prevent the disease before it starts
2, not overworked
When working continuously for more than a certain amount of time, it is important to relax and take a break to reduce the load on the heart. Especially when you have upper respiratory tract infection or digestive tract infection, you should not overexert yourself because your body’s immunity is low and the chances of myophilic viral infection will increase.
3.Cooperate with treatment
The patient with myocarditis should have a positive attitude to cooperate with the doctor’s treatment and should not take a pessimistic and depressed attitude. The majority of myocarditis has a good prognosis and will not leave any sequelae as long as it is treated properly. The patient should take the medication on time, but do not blindly abuse the medication, should follow the doctor’s orders, reasonable use of medication.
4. Regular follow-up
Patients with chronic myocarditis should visit the hospital at regular intervals for follow-up examinations, such as electrocardiograms and echocardiograms, to understand the development of the disease and to guide future treatment.
5, both disease and prevention of change
The recovery from viral myocarditis is a long-term process, and early attention should be paid to rest and timely formal treatment to prevent prolongation of the disease. The prognosis is different between the two. Generally speaking, cardiomyopathy is progressively deteriorating and the prognosis is worse. Treatment and rest should be adhered to to prevent various co-infections so as to cure viral myocarditis completely.