recovery with viral cardiomyopathy

[pmadhavi]

My husband is 44 years old and is suffering with viral cardiomyopathy. Suddenly he developed breathlessness 4 months ago and was taken to the emergency and after examination the doctors concluded that he is having viral cardiomyopathy. His EF has gone down to 20 and sometimes he feels very weak. He is taking strict medication and diet.
Last week the doctors did angio and told that there are no clots and his condition improves with time. My question is how much is he  at risk for heart failure. I am very much worried about his health. No concrete information on EF is given. I just want to know is this disease reversible, if so how much time will take. How risky it is and what are the measures to be taken if he is breathless again. how to improve his EF with diet or small breathing exercise.

[kenkeith]

Myocarditis can be mild and cause virtually no noticeable symptoms. The most frequent symptom of myocarditis is pain in the chest. When myocarditis is more serious, it leads to weakening of the heart muscle. Myocarditis can then cause heart failure (with symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue, fluid accumulation in the lungs, etc.) as well as heart rhythm irregularities from inflammation and/or scarring of the electrical system of the heart.

An EF below 29% is considered heart failure range by the medical community, however, there are individuals in the heart failure range (estimated to be 26% of heart disorder population) that have no symptoms and are not aware of their heart condition and continue to function normally.

The prognosis for long-term damage is not predictable and only becomes evident as the patient is followed by the doctor over time. After the initial phase of myocarditis, some patients can experience complete recovery, others may develop chronic heart failure due to injured heart muscle. Recovery will depend as well on medical therapy to reduce heart size, reduce the heart's afterload by vessel dilatation, increase contractility, etc.

Patients who have had myocarditis are at some risk for sudden unexpected, potentially fatal, heart rhythm abnormalities. These can often be prevented with implantable defibrillators if the heart muscle damage is severe.

[Encephalomalcia]

It is most likely a wait and see.  Just like when a person has a small heart attack, the heart muscle can be stund and then come back.  If he becomes breathless he will need to see a doctor to make sure the valve is not worse.  He needs to take it easy and rest.  He will most likely need to have echocardiograms to check the valve function to make sure it is improving.  Heart failure symptoms are:  Right side swelling in legs and ankles.  Left side heart failure is a cough (because fluid backs up into the lungs) and breathlessness.  Left side failure can turn to pneumonia fast.  Any turning blue i.e. lips, nose, ears, legs, arms is extremely serious and can be fatal (this is when the left ventricle shuts down).  You will need to watch him to make sure everything is going okay and he is getting better.  I am sure the doctor will be following him quite closely.  Just be aware of what heart failure symptoms are, keep all doctor appointment, call the doctor with anything that seems out of the ordinary, watch diet, take medication as prescribed and hopefully everything will turn out okay.  Take care.