What is Myocarditis?

A heart condition related to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and COVID-19 infection has been talked about a lot in the new. What is it? Is it dangerous to your health? What symptoms should I look for?

What is it?

Myocarditis (it’s pronounced my-oh-card-I-tiss) is inflammation of the heart muscle. In other words, the immune system is essentially waging war inside the muscular part of the heart (which is called the myocardium). It’s a fairly rare condition, though it’s widespread especially in certain viral infections.

What is inflammation?

An important thing to understand here is what inflammation is and what it does. Usually, parts of our bodies get inflamed when something triggers an immune response in the area. It makes your sprain ankle swollen, your eyes red when you have pink eye, and your skin itchy when you get a mosquito bite. Inflammation leaks fluid into your tissues and makes your immune system go into action. The problem is inflammation is when it happens where and when it shouldn’t.

So, how does this affect the heart?

The heart is a muscular organ, and in fact a very special one. It has many things the rest of your body doesn’t, and one of the most important parts are the cells that do amazing things every second of your life.

Your heart’s muscular layer is what’s affected by myocarditis. Since your immune system can be super aggressive, it can damage tissue in this muscular area. If this happens, it can cause some serious problems with your heart.

Is it dangerous?

Myocarditis can be a serious threat to your health but it varies in severity. Some cases require little treatment, while others require extensive monitoring and many nights at a hospital. With the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, we’re seeing mostly mild to moderate cases of myocarditis. This still means you need to see the doctor if you have it, but it’s also less likely to result in long-term complications from it.

Remember that symptoms aren’t going to give a good idea of the severity, there is equipment that will give doctors a good picture of the severity. The first test doctors will usually do is an ECG, which tells them how the heart’s electrical system is doing. A smartwatch ECG will not tell you the full story, only one at the hospital can give doctors an accurate picture of what’s going on.

What are the symptoms?

According to Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of myocarditis include:

• Chest pain (or pressure)
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias)
• Shortness of breath, at rest or during activity
• Fluid buildup with swelling of the legs, ankles and feet
• Fatigue
• Other signs and symptoms of a viral infection such as a headache, body aches, joint pain, fever, a sore throat or diarrhea

Mayo Clinic also mentioned the symptoms in children, which include:

• Fever
• Fainting
• Breathing difficulties
• Rapid breathing
• Chest pain (or pressure)
• Rapid or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)

Final words

It’s been established that the COVID-19 vaccine may increase your risk of developing myocarditis, especially in young adult and adolescent males. This is still a fairly rare but serious side effect. Even with this adverse event, the CDC still recommends vaccination of children 5+ who also follow the other criteria in the recommendations. COVID-19 can also cause myocarditis, and it’s apparent that it may be even more common than with the vaccine. The data is still new, and we’re learning a lot.

Please remember to call 911 immediately if you think you have myocarditis. The sooner you get care, the less likely you are to develop long-term complications. Many patients require some medication, rest, and monitoring in mild to moderate cases. Many are also recommended to rest and take it easy so that their heart can properly recover.

DISCLAIMER: All information in this article, including images, advice, and any other materials, is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it due to the information read on this article.

Luke Roszmann, Published January 18, 2022

Last edit: January 18, 2022

CommonPress