Management of myocarditis in clinical practice

Abstract

Myocarditis is an inflammatory heart muscle disease characterized by heterogeneous clinical presentation and outcome. Clinical heterogeneity of myocarditis, ranging from acute onset chest pain with electrocardiographic changes resembling an acute coronary syndrome, to arrhythmic storm and chronic decompensated heart failure, makes diagnosis challenging. However, a correct diagnosis is fundamental to proper patients' management and should always be seeked. Although a definite diagnosis is only provided by endomyocardial biopsy, the European Society of Cardiology task force on myocardial and pericardial diseases provided specific criteria for the diagnosis of clinically suspected myocarditis, which has been facilitated by the advent of noninvasive imaging tests (i.e. cardiovascular magnetic resonance based myocardial tissue characterization). Due to the heterogeneous presentation and disease course of myocarditis, a tailored treatment would be the best strategy, but a standardized management is still not available. However, over the years, new, promising therapies, such as antiviral and immune-suppressive treatment, have come side by side to the standard pharmacological heart treatment, i.e. antiheart failure medications. In this paper we will review the basic principles of myocarditis management in clinical practice, including diagnostic work-up, conventional and disease-specific therapy and patients' follow-up.