Lyme carditis is a bacterial infection of the heart caused by Lyme disease.
The bacteria hinders your heart's electrical system, causing a condition called heart block.
Request an appointment online, call 1-855-876-2484 (UPMC-HVI)), or email us.
Lyme carditis is a rare infection that occurs when Lyme bacteria enters your heart tissue. The bacteria affects your heart's electrical system.
Your heartbeat slows, and electrical signals have trouble traveling from your heart's upper chambers to the lower chambers. Doctors call this condition heart block.
There are three degrees of heart block:
The bacteria that enters your heart comes from Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that spreads most often through black-legged tick bites.
To make an appointment with a UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute specialist for Lyme carditis, complete a request form or call 1-855-876-2484 (UPMC-HVI).
Symptoms of Lyme carditis include:
These symptoms can also appear alongside symptoms of Lyme disease such as:
Your doctor may order imaging scans and other tests to diagnose Lyme carditis and check your heart's functioning.
Tests include:
The best way to prevent Lyme carditis is to avoid Lyme disease.
When removed quickly, the likelihood of getting Lyme disease from a tick is low.
For an appointment with a UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute expert, complete an online request form or call 1-855-876-2484 (UPMC-HVI).
Taking antibiotics for two to three weeks will treat the bacterial infection. Most people recover from the Lyme carditis infection with antibiotic treatment.
Lyme carditis symptoms resolve within one to six weeks.
In some cases, you may need a temporary pacemaker implanted to correct the heart rate.
To make an appointment for Lyme carditis treatment at the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute, complete our request form or call 1-855-876-2484 (UPMC-HVI).