Heart problems
Lyme bacteria can infiltrate your heart tissue, causing Lyme carditis. Carditis can range in severity from moderate to severe. Bacterial interference in your heart might cause chest aches, dizziness, shortness of breath, or palpitations. The infection-induced inflammation prevents electrical impulses from being sent from one chamber of the heart to the other, causing the heart to beat irregularly. This is referred to as heart block. Lyme disease can potentially harm the heart muscle.
Is Lyme carditis common? Here are some numbers:
- The CDC reports that only 1 percent of reported Lyme cases involve carditis.
- Other studies report that 4 to 10 percent of Lyme patients (or more) have carditis. However, these figures may include a broader definition of carditis.
- Children can also have Lyme carditis.
Most patients will recover from an incident of Lyme carditis with therapy. However, it has resulted in a few deaths. From 2012 to 2013, the CDC recorded three sudden Lyme carditis fatalities.
