Recurrence of Giant Cell Myocarditis in a Heart Transplanted Patient with Multiple Autoimmune Diseases

Case Report

Volume 5, Issue 1

Recurrence of Giant Cell Myocarditis in a Heart Transplanted Patient with Multiple Autoimmune Diseases

Helga Rún Garðarsdóttir^2*, Magnus Dalén^3,4 and Emil Najjar^1,2

¹Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
²Heart and Vascular Theme, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
³Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
⁴Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

^*Corresponding author: Helga Rún Garðarsdóttir, Heart and Vascular Theme, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
E-mail: helga.gararsdottir@regionstockholm.se

Citation: Garðarsdóttir HR, Dalén M, Najjar E. Recurrence of Giant Cell Myocarditis in a Heart Transplanted Patient with Multiple Autoimmune Diseases. Case Rep Clin Cardiol J. 2025; 5(1): 145.

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Recurrence of Giant Cell Myocarditis in a Heart Transplanted Patient with Multiple Autoimmune Diseases

Abstract

Giant cell myocarditis is a rare and frequently fatal inflammatory disorder of unknown origin. We describe a case of a 23-year-old woman with multiple autoimmune diseases who presented with progressive heart failure due to giant cell myocarditis leading to implantation of left ventricular assist device as a bridge to orthotopic heart transplantation. During follow-up, endomyocardial biopsy has twice shown reappearance of giant cells in the transplanted heart allograft.

Keywords: Giant cell myocarditis; Fulminant myocarditis; Left ventricular assist device; Orthotopic heart transplantation

Article Details

Recurrence of Giant Cell Myocarditis in a Heart Transplanted Patient with Multiple Autoimmune Diseases