History and admission findings: A 52 year-old women presented with long-standing dyspnoea at exercise as a symptom of heart failure. A coronary heart disease had been excluded by coronary angiography a year before. The symptoms had persisted despite application of guideline-based anticongestive medication.
Investigations: Electrocardiography showed sinus rhythm with decreased anterior wall amplitudes without acute ischemic signs. The white blood count revealed elevated leucocytes with high numbers of eosinophilic granulocytes. Echocardiography demonstrated severe left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of 30 % and a left ventricular end-diastolic diameter of 75 mm. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a pathologic late enhancement in the left ventricular wall. Six myocardial biopsies were obtained and revealed virus-negative eosinophilic inflammatory cardiomyopathy with focal fibrotic scarring.
Diagnosis, treatment and course: The patient was treated according to a previously published study on virus-negative inflammatory heart disease with prednisone 1 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks followed by 0.33 mg/kg daily for 5 month and azathioprine 2 mg/kg daily for 6 month. The echocardiography of the left ventricular function showed an increase from 30 to 45 % and the clinical symptoms of the heart failure resolved to NYHA II.
Conclusion: In patients with virus-negative eosinophilic inflammatory cardiomyopathy standardized therapy with prednisone and azathioprine can improve LV function and clinical symptoms.
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