Don’t ignore a minor cold, beware of “viral myocarditis”!

The recent cold has hit everyone by surprise

Two sudden sneezes

I knew I was in trouble.

Remind everyone to pay attention

Don't rush out to exercise after catching a cold

This is simply doing the body a disservice.

Some people may think that increasing exercise can improve physical fitness, so if you have a cold, then cramming will at least be of some use, right?

You are overthinking! Not only is it useless, but there is another problem to consider - some people actually get viral myocarditis after catching a cold, but they don't know it.

After suffering from viral myocarditis, forcing oneself to engage in strenuous exercise may cause malignant arrhythmias, heart failure, or even cardiogenic shock.

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First, let me teach you about the symptoms of myocarditis. If you really encounter it, you can make a rough judgment:

1. When you have a cold, you may experience symptoms such as fever, body aches, sore throat, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea;

2. Symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness, chest pain or dull pain in the precordial area, dizziness, dyspnea, and edema may occur later;

3. You feel that your heartbeat is irregular and you have arrhythmia.

If you meet these characteristics, I will be heartbroken for three seconds. You may have viral myocarditis! Don't do strenuous exercise at this time.

However, as long as you don't do anything rash, this disease is not that serious. Viral myocarditis is essentially a self-limiting disease. It will usually heal on its own in 2 to 4 weeks. At that time, you can run or jump as you like.

Some people may start to doubt themselves and wonder if there is something wrong with their heart.

My heart just wants to tell you: I'm fine, no need for you to worry.

In fact, getting viral myocarditis may just be bad luck.

As the name suggests, viral myocarditis is mostly caused by viral infection, and these two days happen to be the active period of the virus. Viruses such as influenza virus, mumps virus, and herpes virus may all infect you.

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Some of these virus invasions directly reach the heart through blood circulation and attack the heart, while others trigger the body's immune army to rise up to resist. However, the crazy immune cells sometimes even attack their own people. While destroying the viruses, they also affect normal myocardial cells, thereby causing myocarditis.

So, what you should do is not to worry about heart problems, but to actively prevent viruses! Prevent viruses! Prevent viruses! I have to say it three times because it is important.

Take these 5 suggestions quickly:

1. Wear a mask when entering and leaving crowded places;

2. When eating with others, pay attention to public hygiene and encourage the use of serving chopsticks;

3. Avoid overwork and maintain body immunity;

4. Eat healthy and balanced diet;

5. Keep warm.

If your cold is severe and you have symptoms such as shortness of breath or fatigue, it is best not to do strenuous exercise regardless of whether you have myocarditis or not.

When you are in poor physical condition, the heart load is already relatively heavy. If you force yourself to exercise, your heart rate will increase and your myocardial oxygen consumption will increase, which may be the last straw that breaks the camel's back. If you are not careful, you may even get a myocardial infarction, leading to the risk of sudden death.

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If you suddenly experience angina pectoris, chest tightness, or toothache, left shoulder pain, back pain, etc. during exercise, be careful, as these may be signs of a heart attack!

If you have a cold and you can't control your restlessness and can't fall asleep without moving for a while, it's best to first determine whether you are suitable for exercise.

You can refer to the "neck principle":

If your signs and symptoms are above the neck, such as a runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing, or mild sore throat, you can usually exercise, but consider reducing the intensity and duration of your exercise.

If you have signs and symptoms below the neck, such as chest tightness, coughing fits, or stomach upset, it's best not to exercise.

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Of course, this method is nothing more than a rough judgment of the type and severity of the cold. Self-judgment always has a lot of uncertainty and cannot fully reflect the true condition of the body. Therefore, it is best to treat it as a reference and not be too blindly followed.

In short, although the essence of exercise is to make the body better, your body after a cold needs you to rest well and let it relax.

Exercise is good for your health. If you have a cold, just take a good rest. It won’t hurt to wait a little longer.

Statement: This article is a medical-related educational popular science article. It does not involve specific treatment methods or medical behaviors and cannot replace hospital visits.

Experts collaborating on this article

References

[1] Hong Liu. Correct understanding of viral myocarditis[J]. Everyone's Health, 2023(02):48.

[2] He Mengjuan. Diagnosis and treatment of viral myocarditis[J]. World Latest Medical Information Abstracts, 2018, 18(66):98. DOI:10.19613/j.cnki.1671-3141.2018.66.075.

[3]. Four situations that are prone to sudden death during exercise[J]. Jiangsu Health Care, 2022(10):53.

[4] Zhao Dong, Yang Lixia, Zhao Qini. Investigation and analysis of epidemiological characteristics and risk factors of acute myocardial infarction[J]. Practical Preventive Medicine, 2022, 29(09): 1124-1126.

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Editor: Zhang Fuyao

Map: Eastern Zhou Dynasty