Does ICD implantation prevent sudden cardiac death in patients with VZV myocarditis presenting with syncopal events?
VZV myocarditis can lead to life-threatening long-term sequelae such as ventricular fibrillation, highlighting the potential need for ICD implantation in patients presenting with syncope after VZV infection.
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection can rarely lead to serious cardiac complications and life-threatening arrhythmias. We present a case of a 46-year-old male patient who developed VZV myocarditis and presented with recurrent syncopal episodes followed by a cardiac arrest. He had a further collapse eight years later, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated mild mid-wall basal and inferolateral wall fibrosis. He was treated with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and represented two years later with ICD shocks, and interrogation of the device revealed ventricular fibrillation episodes. This case demonstrates the life-threatening long-term sequelae of VZV myocarditis in adults. We suggest that VZV myocarditis should be considered in all patients who present with a syncopal event after VZV infection. In these patients, ICD implantation is a potentially life-saving procedure.
Ioannou et al. (Sun,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: