Heart Inflammation Diagnosis

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Because symptoms vary by type and from one person to the next, heart inflammation may be hard to diagnose. Your healthcare provider may do a physical exam and order tests.

To help diagnose heart inflammation, your healthcare provider may ask some basic questions.

• Have you had endocarditis, myocarditis, or pericarditis in the past?
• Have you had a recent illness or injury to the chest?
• Have you had any symptoms such as fever, chest pain, or shortness of breath?
• Do you have any other medical conditions or risk factors for heart inflammation, including exposure to certain medicines or toxins or a travel history that may be significant?

They may also examine you and do one or more of the following:

• Check your legs for swelling, a sign of heart failure
• Check your skin for any changes that endocarditis can cause
• Check your temperature for fever
• Check for a spleen that is larger than normal due to an infection or for abdominal pain, which can be a symptom of endocarditis
• Listen to your heart for a new murmur that may be heard with endocarditis, a pericardial friction rub (a grating sound) that may be heard with pericarditis, or a heart rhythm that is not normal
• Listen to your lungs
• Perform an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) to measure electrical signals from your heart and your heart rhythm.