POSITION STATEMENTS
IMAJ | volume 25
Journal 8, August 2023
pages: 519-524
Definition and Diagnosis of Acute Myocarditis: A Position Statement of the Israel Heart Society
1 Division of Cardiology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
2 Clalit Heart Failure Services, Clalit Health Services, Jerusalem, Israel
3 Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery, Tzafon Medical Center, Lower Galilee, Israel
4 Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
5 Division of Cardiology, Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Campus), Petah Tikva, Israel
6 Leviev Heart Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
7 Tel Aviv University Medical School, Tel Aviv, Israel
Summary
Recognizing myocarditis is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to the heterogeneity of its clinical presentation and the wide range of etiologies. There is a lack of uniformity among position papers and guidelines from various professional societies regarding the definition and diagnostic workout, including recommendations for performing endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) and medical management, especially the use of immunosuppressive regimens [1-3]. Moreover, there is significant variability among medical centers in Israel in the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to acute myocarditis. The purpose of this position paper is to present ways to standardize the management of acute myocarditis in Israel [4] by providing up-to-date definitions of the clinical categories of myocarditis, diagnostic criteria, and therapeutic approaches that correspond to the realities of our healthcare system.