Viral myocarditis. Clinical, electrocardiographic and evolutive diversity.

Five observations of severe viral myocarditis are presented. Diverse cardiac emergencies (pump failure, ventricular premature beats or tachycardia, left bundle branch block, trifascicular block, grade 2 or 3 a-v block, severe hypotension, etc.) as well as associated conditions (pericarditis, interstitial nephritis, pneumonia, pulmonary massive thromboembolism) could be found. The course of the disease was acute in three cases, subacute in one and chronic in another. Two patients died with severe pump failure (associated with pulmonary thromboembolism in one case), The clinical, evolutive and histologic aspects were in good correlation. These cases illustrate the clinical, electrocardiographic and evolutive diversity of viral myocarditis.