A patient with toxoplasmosis may develop myocarditis and/or pericarditis. The diagnosis can be challenging because there are numerous other conditions to consider.
Cardiac involvement usually occurs in a patient who is immunocompromised:
(1) HIV disease
(2) heart or other transplant
It may be part of systemic disease, overshadowed by involvement of another organ or the sole organ involved.
Findings in pericarditis:
(1) pericardial effusion
(2) constrictive pericarditis
(3) ECG changes of pericarditis
Findings in myocarditis:
(1) cardiomegaly
(2) heart failure
(3) arrhythmias and other ECG changes
(4) elevated serum troponin
Endomyocardial involvement permits diagnosis by endomyocardial biopsy.
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