Cardiovascular imaging in clinical and experimental acute infectious myocarditis.

Acute myocarditis can be caused by a variety of organisms. Congestive heart failure and death may occur as a consequence of these infections. In recent years cardiac imaging, by echocardiography and magnetic resonance and nuclear imaging has become a useful adjunct in the diagnosis and management of infectious myocarditis. Specific examples of their usefulness will be given in the discussions of chagasic myocarditis, bacterial myocarditis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and peripartum cardiomyopathy. Finally, we explore the exciting area of cardiac imaging of small animals, such as mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.