Complete Heart Block: A Rare Initial Presentation of Epstein-Barr Virus-Induced Myocarditis

Authors

  • Ridha Umar College of Medicine, University of Sharjah
  • Kinza Moin Department of Emergency Medicine, Tawam Hospital
  • Tarab Iqbal Department of Emergency Medicine, Tawam Hospital
  • Resshme Sudha Department of Emergency Medicine, Tawam Hospital
  • Thiagarajan Jaiganesh Department of Emergency Medicine, Tawam Hospital

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21542/gcsp.2026.s2.33

Abstract

Myocarditis, a rare but serious condition often caused by viral infections, rarely manifests with cardiac involvement in healthy individuals infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We present a case of a 51-year-old diabetic presenting with exertional dyspnoea, pleuritic chest pain, and intermittent fever. Investigations revealed elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), high sensitive troponin, creatine kinase (CK) levels, and complete heart block on ECG. Echocardiography showed reduced ejection fraction and cardiac MRI confirmed myocarditis. Epstein-Barr virus was confirmed as the underlying cause. He was treated with prednisone, acyclovir, and a permanent pacemaker. Due to serious complications associated with myocarditis such as acute heart failure and arrhythmias, it is imperative to emphasize the importance of early recognition and timely intervention of atypical presentations.

Published

2026-05-22

Issue

Vol. 2026 No. S2 (2026): Middle East Heart Failure Conference 2026

Section

Conference report

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Ridha Umar, Kinza Moin, Tarab Iqbal, Resshme Sudha, Thiagarajan Jaiganesh

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.