Acute myocarditis simulating an acute coronary syndrome

Acute myocarditis can mimic acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The authors report a personal observation and a review of the literature to underline the diagnostic problems. Myocarditis suggestive of AMI is rare but certain presenting features may suggest the diagnosis: young age of the patient, absence of cardiovascular risk factors and a history of recent infection. The originality of our observation consists in the chest pain recurrence with electric modifications. Although transthoracic echocardiography remains a useful tool for the diagnosis, myocardial scintigraphy and endomyocardial biopsy have been replaced by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. The commonest causes are viral. Myocarditis Simulating MI generally have a good prognosis. Their treatment remains symptomatic.