Myocarditis: when to suspect and how to diagnose it in athletes

[Sudden cardiac death in athletes and its prevention]

Athletes and especially elite athletes are predominantly young people and are not associated with high health risks, apart from traumatic injuries. Nevertheless, there is a significantly high incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD), which ranges from 0.6 to 3.0/100,000 athletes per year. Often the SCD is the first manifestation of an underlying cardiac disease. Distinct structural cardiac disorders, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, coronary artery anomalies (17 %), inflammatory disorders (6 %) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy as well as conditions without structural cardiac abnormalities, such as primary electrical diseases (channelopathies) are important causes of sudden death. A simple screening can help to identify athletes with these diseases and allow specific therapies or precautionary measures to be initiated.

Myopericarditis and exertional rhabdomyolysis following an influenza A (H3N2) infection

BACKGROUND

Acute myopericarditis and exertional rhabdomyolysis, two uncommon but well-described diseases with potentially life-threatening effects, are generally considered as independent clinical entities. However, they may in fact be pathophysiologically related under certain circumstances. This is the first ever report of influenza myopericarditis provoked by exertional rhabdomyolysis to the best of our knowledge.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 25-year-old immunocompetent Chinese man presented with bilateral leg pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath on admission soon after completing vigorous training comprising running drills. Exertional rhabdomyolysis was diagnosed with 44 fold high serum creatine phosphokinase. Then he developed chest pain, pericardial effusion, changes of electrocardiography and positive troponin I suggestive of myopericarditis. Influenza A (H3N2) virus infection was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction analysis of nasopharyngeal wash samples. Other possible infective and autoimmune causes were excluded. Patient recovered completely with anti-inflammatory therapy and the supportive care.

CONCLUSION

This case suggests that clinicians who treat patients with exertional rhabdomyolysis should be aware of the potential vulnerability to acute myopericarditis, especially in the presence of recent influenza A infection.

[Myocarditis and sudden cardiac death in athletes. Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention]

Myocarditis is the reason for sudden cardiac death in 5-22% of athletes < 35 years of age. Actually, parvovirus B19 and human herpes virus 6 are the most important pathogens. Clinical presentation of myocarditis is heterogeneous, with all courses between asymptomatic and fulminant reported. Especially in athletes it is important to take subtle discomforts seriously and initiate further evaluation. Electrocardiogram, laboratory parameters, serologic markers, and echocardiography are helpful in diagnosis of myocarditis, but are not specific. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart has become an important tool in the evaluation of patients with myocarditis and allows noninvasive appraisal of myocardial inflammation using late enhancement. However, MRI is not able to assess viral persistence. Therefore, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) remains the gold standard in diagnosis of myocarditis. When considering EMB in these athletes one should not ignore spontaneous healing in 50% of patients with myocarditis. Contrariwise, specific therapy (e.g., immunosuppression, interferon, immunoglobulins) for myocarditis is only feasible after getting results of EMB. When myocarditis is verified, athletes have to withdraw from sport for at least 6 months. Before restarting physical activity, a detailed examination is necessary and most of the patients will undergo another EMB. For prevention of myocarditis and sudden cardiac death it is recommended to stop elite sport for 4 weeks after an unspecific infection. Whether moderate sport can be started earlier is unclear.

Myocardial fibrosis in an veteran endurance athlete

This study reports the cardiac structure and function of a lifelong male endurance athlete, who has run over 148 000 miles, who presented with symptoms of chest discomfort, dyspnoea and loss of competitive running performance. Importantly, the athlete documented several periods of regular intensive endurance activity while suffering with flu-like symptoms. Cardiovascular MRI demonstrated a pattern of late gadolinium enhancement, which indicated myocardial scarring as a result of previous myocarditis.Myocarditis is a non-ischaemic inflammatory disease of the myocardium associated with cardiac dysfunction and arrhythmogenic substrate. The clinical course of viral myocarditis is mostly insidious with limited cardiac inflammation and dysfunction. However, as in the present case, overwhelming inflammation may occur in a subset of patients leading to myocardial fibrosis due to recurrent inflammation.

Sudden death in competitive athletes

Sudden death in athletes is an extremely rare event yet no less tragic for its infrequency. Up to 90% of these deaths are due to underlying cardiovascular diseases and therefore categorized as sudden cardiac death (SCD). The causes of SCD among athletes are strongly correlated with age. In young athletes (<35 years), the leading causes are congenital cardiac diseases, particularly hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, and congenital coronary artery anomalies. By contrast, most of deaths in older athletes (<35 years) are due to coronary artery disease. This review focuses on the cardiac causes of SCD and provides a brief summary of the principal noncardiac causes. Current pre-participation screening strategies are also discussed, with particular emphasis on the Italian experience.

Myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy in athletes: diagnosis, management, and recommendations for sport activity

This article focuses on uncommon heart diseases associated with an increased risk for sudden death during exercise, namely, myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Gelsolin superfamily proteins: key regulators of cellular functions

Cytoskeletal rearrangement occurs in a variety of cellular processes and involves a wide spectrum of proteins. Among these, the gelsolin superfamily proteins control actin organization by severing filaments, capping filament ends and nucleating actin assembly [1]. Gelsolin is the founding member of this family, which now contains at least another six members: villin, adseverin, capG, advillin, supervillin and flightless I. In addition to their respective role in actin filament remodeling, these proteins have some specific and apparently non-overlapping particular roles in several cellular processes, including cell motility, control of apoptosis and regulation of phagocytosis (summarized in table 1). Evidence suggests that proteins belonging to the gelsolin superfamily may be involved in other processes, including gene expression regulation. This review will focus on some of the known functions of the gelsolin superfamily proteins, thus providing a basis for reflection on other possible and as yet incompletely understood roles for these proteins.