Athletes recovering from acute myocarditis should abstain from moderate to vigorous activity for 6 months and demonstrate normal cardiac function without arrhythmias before returning to play.
Supports cautious return-to-play protocols; leaves open need for prospective validation.
Myocarditis is a pathologic entity that has serious potential consequences for competitive athletes. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the myocardium accompanied by myocellular necrosis. Cardiotropic viruses, in particular the Coxsackie B virus, have been implicated as the most common cause of acute myocarditis in the United States. A thorough history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, elevated cardiac enzymes, and an elevated sedimentation rate help make the diagnosis. Athletes recovering from acute myocarditis should abstain from moderate to vigorous activity for 6 months, have normal cardiac function, and have no demonstrable arrhythmia before returning to sports.
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Brennan et al. (2003) studied this question.
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