Detection of acute myocarditis using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.

The clinical features, echocardiographic characteristics, and electrocardiographic findings in two patients with acute myocarditis are presented. The first patient had rheumatic myocarditis and the other had probable viral myocarditis. Both patients had regional wall motion abnormalities on the echocardiogram, and the nuclear magnetic resonance image for each patient showed myocardial edema in the area of the wall motion abnormality. These changes disappeared with resolution of the acute disease process. These preliminary data indicate that nuclear magnetic resonance imaging may show myocardial edema in acute myocarditis.