posted
I have just been diagnosed with Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy. 3 years ago I had Lyme Disease. Is it possible that it has returned and is causing this problem? My Doctor says we do not see much Lyme Disease in Arizona and knows very little about it. Any information would be helpfull.
Posts: 3 | From Mesa Arizona | Registered: Jan 2006
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-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
When I did a search on the website of the National Library of Medicine, there were 145 articles listed for the search term of cardiomyopathy +lyme. Here is one of them. If you want to see more, go to the website and do the search:
[Acute myocarditis and cardiomyopathy in Lyme borreliosis]
[Article in German]
Scheffold N, Sucker C, Bergler-Klein J, Kaag N, Cyran J.
Medizinische Klinik I Schwerpunkt Kardiologie Klinikum Heilbronn Akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus der Universitat Heidelberg Am Gesundbrunnen 20-24 D-74078 Heilbronn. [email protected]
Heart involvement of Lyme disease occurs in about 4-10% of patients with Lyme borreliosis. The most common manifestation is acute, self-limiting Lyme carditis, which manifests mostly as transient conduction disorders of the heart, pericarditis and myocarditis. Laboratory tests (ELISA, immunoblotting and PCR) usually have limited sensitivity and specificity, and criteria of performance and interpretation have not yet been fully evaluated. Therefore the laboratory evidence should only be interpreted in conjunction with other clinical and diagnostic features. Recently there has been convincing evidence published that long standing dilated cardiomyopathy in many cases is associated with a chronic Borrelia burgdorferi (BB) infection. Several studies showed a higher prevalence of BB antibodies in patients with severe heart failure in endemic areas (e.g., 26% versus 8% in healthy individuals). The isolation of spirochetes from the myocardium gave further evidence that BB may cause chronic heart muscle disease. In several studies antimicrobial treatment showed an improvement of the left ventricular function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy associated with BB. However the duration of dilated cardiomyopathy before treatment plays an important part in the clinical outcome of BB-associated chronic myocarditis.
Publication Types:
* Review
PMID: 11149272 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
P.S. The critters go where the heavy metals are. There is no, absolutely no, doubt about it. Check for heavy metal toxicity. The majority of Lyme infected people have it, they just don't know or don't want to know or don't want to do anything about it. The ones that do something about it, usually get well. It takes patience.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
I should add that bartonella can also cause heart problems, and the medical establishment knows even less about tickborne bartonella. The same meds do not treat bartonella, so if you had coinfections along with the lyme that were untreated at the time, it is possible they may still be present and causing trouble.
When you had lyme three years ago, did anyone mention babesia, bartonella, or ehrlichia to you? If not, there may be problems from untreated co-infections. When they test ticks in some areas, multiple germs are found, sometimes in high percentages.
When you say you had lyme three years ago, how were you treated, and how has your health been since then (apart from the heart issue)?
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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