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CASE REPORT article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Heart Failure and Transplantation
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1488503
This article is part of the Research Topic Outcome-Oriented Approaches to Arrhythmia and Heart Failure Treatment View all 5 articles

A Giant and Rapid Myocardial Remodeling Due to Fatal Giant Cell Myocarditis: A Case Report

Provisionally accepted
Wei Zhang Wei Zhang Tao Guo Tao Guo *
  • Department of Cardiology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Giant cell myocarditis is a rare and rapidly progressive disease with a high mortality rate. We present the case of a 21-year-old male without a medical history who presented with a giant left ventricle (9.9 cm, EF:10%) and in a severe clinical state. Cardiac MRI and virology raised the suspicion of giant cell myocarditis. Concerned about the hemodynamic and respiratory deterioration, we initiated cardiac transplant therapy. A fatal ventricular fibrillation occurs while waiting for the heart transplant. Sudden death could represent the "first symptom'' of pathological findings. It is important to recognize that while sudden death due to giant cell myocarditis may be rare, it is still a potentially serious complication of giant cell infection and should be considered in cases of unexplained sudden death. In addition, this case highlights the challenges in the diagnosis and management of giant cell myocarditis and the need for early recognition and aggressive treatment.

    Keywords: Giant cell myocarditis, sudden death, Cardiac MRI, Heart transplant, Early recognition and treatment

    Received: 30 Aug 2024; Accepted: 03 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Tao Guo, Department of Cardiology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

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