Inflammatory Myocardial Disease Case Report Following COVID-19 Infection: Giant Cell Myocarditis versus Cardiac Sarcoidosis: To Be or Not to Be

Abstract

COVID-19 can induce cardiac involvement, which can include myocardial infarction, various types of arrhythmia, atrioventricular block, myocarditis, acute heart failure, and sudden cardiac death, in approximately 30% of infected patients. There are some reports on the triggering of sarcoid-like reactions and inflammatory myocardial processes by various types of infections. However, little is known about the relationship between COVID-19 and inflammatory cardiomyopathies such as cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) and giant cell myocarditis (GCM). Herein, we describe the clinical course, management, and follow-up of an unmasked inflammatory cardiomyopathy in a 57-year-old Iranian woman, who presented with ventricular arrhythmia 4 months after mild COVID-19 infection. The onset of symptomatic inflammatory myocardial disorders such as CS or GCM may be triggered by COVID-19 infection. The best approach to the management of myocardial inflammatory COVID-19 should probably be individualized based on the patient’s clinical presentation and severity of cardiac involvement.

Keywords

• case report
• covid-19
• giant cell
• inflammatory cardiomyopathy
• myocarditis
• sarcoidosis