NONPROFIT
2023 HEALTH CARE EDITION
SOURCES: MYOCARDITIS FOUNDATION; NATIONAL HEART, LUNG AND BLOOD INSTITUTE; PENN MEDICINECOMMUNITY IMPACT Health: a recent viral, bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection can lead to myocarditis Medications: antibiotics, weight loss medicines and others can have side eects leading to myocarditis Genetics: 6%-18% of myocarditis patients carry a genetic mutation linked to increased risk SYMPTOMS: • Viral infection symptoms: Vomiting and/or diarrhea, sore throat, body aches, fever • Back and/or chest pain • Swelling in hands, legs or liver • Heart palpitations • Weakness, exhaustion • Lightheadedness, dizziness • Shortness of breath and/or cough (and no history of asthma) SPREADING AWARENESS A heart condition known as myocarditis can be treated, if caught early, but the disease can be dicult to diagnose, said Genevieve Rumore, executive director of the Myocarditis Foundation. RISK FACTORS: Sex: males are more likely to develop myocarditis, some studies show Age: from puberty to early 30s are at higher risk
Myocarditis Foundation EMILY LINCKECOMMUNITY IMPACT Kingwood nonprot raises awareness on virus-caused heart disease The Myocarditis Foundation works to educate the public on myocarditis, a rare but potentially deadly heart disease. From left, Operations & Public Relations Manager Melissa Graham and Executive Director Genevieve Rumore, are pictured.
A disease that can be dicult to detect and diagnose, myocarditis, can impact anyone at any age, said Genevieve Rumore, the executive director of the Myocarditis Foundation, a Kingwood-based nonprot. “We’re trying to raise awareness about the disease so that it can be diagnosed early because ... the likelihood of surviving it is much higher,” Rumore said. Myocarditis is in ammation of the heart’s muscular wall, and while considered rare, it can be deadly if left untreated, Rumore said. The disease is more likely to impact males and young people from puberty into their early 30s. Symptoms of myocarditis—such as chest pain and dizziness—often go undetected, Rumore said. Eective myocarditis treatments include three to six months of heart rest—meaning no exercise, smoking, caeine or alcohol. Young athletes are especially inclined not to take time to rest and recover, Rumore said, making them BY EMILY LINCKE
vulnerable, even in otherwise good health. “A lot of them are working towards scholarships, and ... unfortunately, a lot of the people ... are out on the ball elds when they collapse ... with a lethal cardiac arrhythmia,” Rumore said. The Myocarditis Foundation was formed in New York in 2001 by Candace Moose—a survivor of myocarditis—and Dr. Leslie Cooper—the doctor who saved Moose’s life, Rumore said. In 2015, Rumore took over as executive director, eventually moving the foundation’s home base to Kingwood. The foundation has a three-pronged approach to tackling myocarditis, Rumore said: education, research and family support. The nonprot presents information at schools, funds research and holds meetings for families who lost loved ones. Growing awareness of myocarditis is important, especially because coronavirus may have left numerous people with the disease, Rumore said. “[Myocarditis is] not as rare as everybody thinks,” Rumore said. “We really don’t think so. We think it’s just misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed.”
Myocarditis Foundation 800 Rockmead Drive, Ste. 155, Kingwood 281-713-2962 www.myocarditisfoundation.org
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12310 W. Lake Houston Pkwy. Houston, TX 77044 713.852.6700 TexasBayCU.org
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LAKE HOUSTON HUMBLE KINGWOOD EDITION • JUNE 2023
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