Dynamics in myocardial deformation as an indirect marker of myocardial involvement in acute myocarditis due to HIV infection: a case report

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of acute myocarditis (AM) is often challenging and mainly performed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). CASE SUMMARY: The present case describes echocardiographic findings of a 38-year-old male patient with exertional dyspnoea probably due to myocardial involvement of previously undiagnosed acute human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Myocardial deformation imaging might be helpful to detect early stages of myocardial dysfunction in patients with AM and/or systemic infectious diseases by documentation of patchy abnormalities of longitudinal, circumferential and rotational left ventricular (LV) deformation. DISCUSSION: CMR still represents the gold standard to diagnose AM, which has been confirmed by myocardial oedema and hyperaemia in the present case. However, speckle tracking echocardiography seems to be useful to detect myocardial involvement in HIV infection by dynamic alterations of different components of LV deformation. This was documented by comparing echocardiographic findings at the acute stage of HIV infection to findings at follow-ups during antiviral treatment. The diagnostic option to detect myocardial involvement by deformation imaging in a patient with HIV infection is described for the first time.