Technologist Track Session 4: Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease (2020)-Myocarditis

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, usually caused by viral infection, autoimmune/hypersensitivity, or toxins/drugs. It can present with chest pain, troponin rise, heart failure, arrhythmias, or sudden death. Diagnosis is often clinical; endomyocardial biopsy is definitive but rarely done. Cardiac MRI is crucial to support diagnosis, assess severity, guide treatment, and follow-up. Acute cases are best scanned 48 hours to one month after symptoms; chronic cases are harder to detect. MRI looks for edema, injury, and scar using T2 imaging, mapping, and late gadolinium enhancement, though artifacts and irregular rhythm can limit image quality.

Keywords

myocarditis

cardiac MRI

endomyocardial biopsy

late gadolinium enhancement

heart muscle inflammation