Exercise Induced Cardiomyopathy

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Specializes in LTC.

Settle a debate a co-worker and I are having:

A young, healthy person can get cardiomyopathy from exercising while suffering from a viral illness such as the common cold. True or False?

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Specializes in CTICU.

False.. we think. There is a lot not known about the etiology of viral cardiomyopathy. It does often follow a period where the pt felt they had a "cold". I don't think there has been any demonstrated link to exercise in those pts though.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

I have never heard this, and can't find any literature to support it.

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Specializes in Pediatric critical care.

When I worked in PICU we had a teenager who had viral cardiomyopathy and she thought she just had a really bad cold. However, I don't think it has any relevance to exercise.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

I've taken care of several people with viral cardiomyopathy, and exercise has never been a factor identified by the cardiologist in their H&P. Typically they look for infection with Coxsackie Virus.

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