Developing early detection strategies and therapeutic options for cardiovascular complications from malaria may offer important clinical tools to health professionals treating patients with the disease, according to a state-of-the-art review published Feb. 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Shyla Gupta, BSc(Med), et al., reviewed the available evidence of cardiovascular involvement in neglected tropical diseases and other infectious diseases as part of the Neglected Tropical Diseases and Other Infectious Diseases Affecting the Heart Project.

After analyzing 28 literature documents, the authors found that myocarditis is the most common cardiovascular complication of malaria. Data showed that the effects of myocarditis are often reversible by treating it with general anti-malarial drugs. However, the authors caution that anti-malarial treatment regimens can have fatal cardiovascular side effects.

According to the authors, studies demonstrated that late detection of malaria could be frequent and deadly. They add that early detection of cardiovascular complications from malaria is critical to improve patient outcomes.

Moving forward, the authors conclude that strategies such as cardiac monitoring through electrocardiograms, blood testing and understanding physical symptoms “are of utmost importance” for effective treatment of malaria.

Clinical Topics: Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathies

Keywords: Antimalarials, Myocarditis, Malaria, Heart Diseases, Heart, Communicable Diseases, Cardiology, Electrocardiography, Pharmaceutical Preparations

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