A Case of Viral Myocarditis Presenting With Acute Asthma Attack

Abstract

Acute viral myocarditis is one of the causes of heart failure. Cardiac asthma is commonly observed in elderly patients with left heart failure. If the pulmonary manifestations are prominent it can mask the involvement of heart. We report a young case of viral myocarditis mimicking acute asthma attack. Case Presentation: A 27-year-old young man with a history of asthma presented to the pulmonary department of our hospital with dyspnea, left sided chest pain, cough, wheezing. Asthma was diagnosed and treated, however his respiratory complaints have persisted. Laboratory evaluations revealed that elevated cardiac enzymes, Echocardiogram showed global hypokinesia in the left ventricle and a decrease of ejection fraction. We concluded that viral myocarditis can present itself like an acute asthma attack.