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Avatar universal

Recovery Myocarditis

Hi im 18 years old and recently i had a flu which turned into a viral infection and suffered what the paramedics called a 'heart attack' three times within two days. this happened one week ago Feb 29th 2012 and was out of the hospital on March 4th 2012. since i have been released the idea has been that i should take it easy. i was diagnosed with Myocarditis, with thickened aortic and mitral valves with regurgitation. Im going to the doctors again in three weeks to get an ultrasound update and a new white blood cell count for the viral infection. was wondering what other peoples recovery time has been, or what i should be expecting (just asking for another opinion other than doctors and parents) as a little history. i am incredibly healthy, 8% body fat 5'10 160lbs, work out to the point that nothing should be wrong basically, amazing diet all my vitamins, omegas... no deficiencies in anything... this seemed to have been solely based on the viral infection and I'm hoping that once its gone that i will be 100% recovered. anyway, feedback on myocarditis would be great! thanks
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Avatar universal
It sounds as though you have worked out a great attitude towards the bad experience you have had--and towards what it takes to live a long and healthy life afterward.  

I love your advice about avoiding horror stories on the internet!
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Avatar universal
Ok so ed34 is dumb. the heart is a muscle and just like any muscle it has the ability to recover about 80% of people with myocarditis make a full recovery also look online almost every site will say the prognosis is positive, and most people do make a full recovery it just takes time

I am 22 years old I was diagnosed with myocarditis on january 1st 2015 I had viral symptoms beforehand. anyways I was on rest and given beta blockers, lower blood pressure meication, and ibuprofen to to keep inflammation down as of now I will be on those for 3 months. I was instructed not to lift above 10lbs as well but for only three weeks along with no physical activity. After that I was cleared for physical activity I have been nervouse to play hockey and work out again buuut my job requires a lot of physical activity and heavy lifting plus I shoveled snow njumerouse times and felt ok. anyways I am being monitored with blood tests and an echocardiogram in april to make sure im all good. for the most part I think im going to be allright. its normal to be scared, have anxiety, or think worst cas scenario I mean its your heart! I still get worried sometimes and get pannicky but relaxing is the key also dont do too much research online the internet is full of hypochondriacs and horror stories and always show and present eveidence involving the worst cases possable.  just relax DONT SMOKE OR DRINK I dont smoke but do love my beer and jack danials and hanging at bars. but am refusuing to do so because in the long term id rather have a working heart and live than ever touch another beer in my life the time will come when you can do all these things again (please excuse any spelling errors/ grammar mistakes I work 3rd shift and am a little tired).
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Avatar universal
I am a male 37-year old and was in Hong Kong on vacation when I had what we thought was a major "heart attack".  Turned out I had myocarditis and pericarditis.  I was very fortunate because my parents live in HK and took me to a great hospital. I was in the hospital for a week including the ICU for three days. I was then on bed-rest for 5-days before I got clearance to fly back to the USA. I was then on bed rest for 10-days to avoid readmittance to the hospital here.  My cardiologist here instructed me that for at least 8-weeks I can't even lift even 10-lbs.  The medication I have been on to suppress my heart activity and allow it to heal makes me extremely tired! I am also on muscle relaxants to help with the pain. I appreciate all of the comments that give me some perspective on how long it may take to recover as it has been discouraging thus far (though it seems some of you are a bit younger than me). One interesting note: I have been told numerous times that the "heart attack" event I had from myo & pericarditis is MUCH more painful than that suffered by those that actually suffer what is typically known as a heart attack that kills the heart tissue. Funny...I didn't feel very fortunate as I was in agony in a foreign country but I do now knowing there is hope for a full recovery as opposed to bypass surgeries, etc.
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Avatar universal
Hey I'm also 18 and I was told I was having a "massive heart attack" early last month, and then ended up in ICU and was diagnosed with Myocarditis.  It's now been about a month and a half since I was diagnosed, and I'm almost fully recovered. I had an ultrasound done a couple weeks ago and the doctor said it looked great but my EKG was still abnormal but better than the last one. So I'm almost fully covered and I'm back to exercising now which is great. But I'm also in college and I used to party almost every weekend and I was chain smoker. It's been tough having to quit both but you should definitely refrain from doing both. Your health is a lot more important than partying and all that, it is really disappointing though and I know exactly how you feel. But best of luck to you in recovering! I'm sure it'll be a quick recovery!
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976897 tn?1379167602
I sincerely hope your Doctor is right. I don't think he's right about the valve leaflets though. I think once damaged, they will remain damaged but hopefully the regurgitation is just mild.
With regards to the alcohol, I would refrain until you know the infection has gone. You have many more years to party.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for the response so quickly. I went to my family doctor and his input on the situation was that because of my health, it is most likely that once the viral infection is gone i will be back to 100% because of my previous health. But this may be a naive question but, I'm in a fraternity and a lot of events are coming up and have passed already. I have abstained from drinking or smoking, but i was wondering what the harm would be if i had a little to drink, not much but just a few beers over the course of the night? At this time i feel back to normal but doing anything to fatigue my body may be bad, and could cause long term damage... Thanks!
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976897 tn?1379167602
Myocarditis can be very serious indeed and only a few make a full quick recovery after the infection has been controlled. There is no way to tell what damage will be done until things settle down because everything is inflamed up until that point. With regards to the valves, I could be wrong, but I think they will stay thickened because they are damaged. They are a hotspot for infections. So, I'm very much afraid, this is a wait and see scenario for which nobody can predict the outcome.
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