Human herpesvirus 6 subtype A-associated myocarditis with 'apical ballooning'.

A 67-year-old woman who presented with acute chest pain is reported. Three days before admission, she suffered from a flu-like infection. Coronary angiography showed no coronary stenosis. Ventriculography showed moderately reduced left ventricular function characterized by the so-called 'apical ballooning'. Endomyocardial biopsies and polymerase chain reaction analysis of the plasma revealed an acute infection with human herpesvirus 6 subtype A. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed myocarditis with areas of interstitial macrophages and fibrosis. The present case report links, for the first time, myocarditis with a human herpesvirus 6 subtype A infection and the appearance of apical ballooning.