A 13-year-old boy who came this week to a Meuhedet urgent care clinic in Modiin Illit with headache, dizziness, weakness and a general feeling of being unwell was ultimately diagnosed with myocarditis, a rare and potentially life-threatening inflammation of the heart muscle.
Dr. Samir Abu Rabiya, a pediatric emergency specialist at the clinic, noticed an unusually rapid pulse during the exam and kept investigating. The boy also mentioned some shortness of breath. Although the fast heartbeat could have been explained by stress or excitement, the doctor ruled out pneumonia after a chest X-ray came back normal and then insisted on an ECG, which showed abnormal findings.
The ECG led to the diagnosis, and the teenager was hospitalized for treatment and monitoring. Abu Rabiya said, "Without the ECG, the diagnosis could have been missed." He added, "Children do not come with a neat list of symptoms. They say, 'I do not feel well,' and our job is to see the full picture, carry out a thorough examination and not settle on one diagnosis before ruling out other possibilities."
Abu Rabiya said myocarditis is uncommon in children and teenagers and can look like a routine viral illness because its symptoms are nonspecific. He said the most common cause is a viral infection, though autoimmune diseases can also be involved, and cases were also seen during COVID-19 in the PIMS syndrome. He stressed that the boy had been healthy with no underlying conditions or special risk factors. He urged parents to seek medical care for shortness of breath, chest pain, significant weakness, fever, chills, reduced appetite or reduced ability to do daily activities, and said most healthy children recover fully with supportive care, anti-inflammatory drugs and close cardiology follow-up, though severe cases can cause acute heart failure and require intensive care.
