virus and heart failure

My husband is 64 and just got out of the hospital with heart failure due to a virus.  His heart function is 10%.  We are still in shock as he had no prior symptoms until we took him in for shortness of breath (lots of fluid around the heart).  He has never smoked, never drank, never had high blood pressure, his weight is perfect, his arteries are completely clear, and he in good over all health.  They have placed him on meds for 6 weeks and if no improvement, he'll go on a transplant list.  How could this happen to such a healthy person?  We can't even remember him being sick.  Has anyone out there had this experience?  Can a heart get back to normal?  Thanks for any help.  My heart is broken.

[Dr J Singh]

Hi,

Dilated cardiomyopathy can be caused by an acute inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) due to a viral infection. This disorder is called viral cardiomyopathy. Infection with coxsackie B virus is the most common cause of viral cardiomyopathy. The virus infects and weakens the heart muscle. As in coronary artery disease, the weakened heart stretches in an attempt to compensate, resulting in dilated cardiomyopathy and often heart failure.

Since the ejection fraction is quite low, the prognosis is definitely not good. I think in such scenarios, the probably the only answer is cardiac transplantation.

I sincerely hope that helps. Please do keep me posted. Kind regards.