What Happens When a Virus Hijacks Your Heart
What Happens When a Virus Hijacks Your Heart
By Seeker
Myocarditis, a rare heart condition that can stem from some common viruses and bacterial infections, often affects young people, has very few symptoms, and goes largely undiagnosed.
In this SICK, we sit down with Dr. DeLisa Fairweather, a PhD researcher from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Fairweather has studied myocarditis for roughly 25 years.
Unlike atherosclerosis, which is commonly linked to heart attacks, and involves your vessels and arteries, Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle itself and is often caused by viral infections, like Coxsackie (a.k.a. hand, foot, and mouth disease), influenza, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV.
Myocarditis occurs when said viruses that normally infect another part of the body, like the gut or the lung, go to the heart.
But what happens when the virus gets to your heart and why does it travel to your heart in the first place?