Monkeypox may potentially cause heart damage in some patients, according to a new international study.
Published in the JACC: Case Reports, the study found a 31-year-old man with a confirmed monkeypox infection developed acute myocarditis one week after first showing symptoms.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, typically caused by a viral infection.
The lead author of the study, Dr Ana Isabel Pinho, said the case highlighted cardiac involvement as a potential complication associated with monkeypox infection.
"We believe that reporting this potential causal relationship can raise more awareness of the scientific community and health professionals for acute myocarditis as a possible complication associated with monkeypox," she said.
The study found the patient presented to a health clinic five days following the onset of monkeypox symptoms, including malaise, myalgia, fever and multiple swollen lesions on the face, hands and genitalia.
After a PCR swab sample of a skin lesion, it was confirmed the man had a positive monkeypox infection.
The patient returned to the emergency department three days later, reporting chest tightness radiating through his left arm.
The patient was admitted to an intensive care unit after an examination with the clinical suspicion of acute myocarditis.
The patient was discharged after one week with a full recovery.
The authors said further research is needed to identify the relationship between monkeypox and heart injury.
Source: www.9news.com.au
After electrocardiogram and blood work, results discovered that the patient had a range of abnormalities that could indicate stress injury to the heart.
The results of the cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) study performed on the patient were consistent with myocardial inflammation and a diagnosis of acute myocarditis.
Editor-in-chief Dr Julia Grapsa said through the study, they now had a "deeper understanding of monkeypox and viral myocarditis".
"(We know) how accurately diagnose and manage this disease," she said.
