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Biventricular assist device placement and immunosuppression as therapy for necrotizing eosinophilic myocarditis

Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine volume 2, pages 544–548 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Background A previously healthy 47-year-old woman presented reporting nausea, anorexia and light-headedness of 2 weeks' duration, and three episodes of syncope. She also had pleuritic chest pain and rapidly declining cardiac function. The only reported medical history was urinary tract infection and an ankle fracture sustained 5 months before presentation. She was receiving no medication other than estrogen patches for menopause and did not smoke or use illicit drugs.

Investigations Electrocardiography, chest radiography, echocardiography, measurement of creatinine phosphokinase and troponin T, coronary angiography and endomyocardial biopsy.

Diagnosis Necrotizing eosinophilic myocarditis.

Management Biventricular assist device implantation, methylprednisolone, prednisolone and mycophenolate mofetil.

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Figure 1: Initial electrocardiogram of the patient at presentation.
Figure 2: Microscopy of endomyocardial biopsy samples.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Consultant in the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Leslie T Cooper

  2. Associate Professor of Surgery at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Consultant in the Department of Surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Kenton J Zehr

Authors
  1. Leslie T Cooper
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  2. Kenton J Zehr
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Correspondence to Leslie T Cooper.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Cite this article

Cooper, L., Zehr, K. Biventricular assist device placement and immunosuppression as therapy for necrotizing eosinophilic myocarditis. Nat Rev Cardiol 2, 544–548 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpcardio0322

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpcardio0322

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