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Contagious Heart Diseases

While heart diseases may not spread through direct contagion the way viruses or bacteria do, those same viruses and bacteria can cause heart disease once they land in the body. Devastating heart ailments such as rheumatic fever, endocarditis and myocarditis all spring from everyday germs spread through human contact, while another contagious virus called cytomegalovirus seems to play a role in heart disease.

  1. Rheumatic Fever

    • According to the DrGreene website, Group A strep, a common bacterial illness, can grow into rheumatic fever in children. This dangerous disease causes heart inflammation and can eventually destroy the heart valves. While people cannot actually spread rheumatic fever, they can easily infect each other with the bacteria that causes it.

    Endocarditis

    • The Mayo Clinic describes endocarditis as an infection of the heart's endocardium, or inner lining. This serious bacterial disease can travel from the mouth to the heart, where it can destroy heart vales and induce heart failure. The Patient UK website states that most endocarditis cases stem from gum disease that allows the bacteria to enter the bloodstream. The Dental Health Directory adds that transmission through saliva from kissing, coughing or sneezing can transfer these bacteria from person to person.

    Myocarditis

    • Myocarditis inflames the heart wall's middle layer, according to the Mayo Clinic, and weakens the heart's ability to pump blood while also causing dangerous clots to form. At one time, people blamed rheumatic fever for most cases of myocarditis, but today viruses and bacteria tend to cause the disease instead. Viruses associated with myocarditis include such common and contagious germs as the cold, flu, mononucleosis and measles.

    Cytomegalovirus

    • Cytomegalovirus (CMV), which FamilyDoctor.org describes as a contagious virus spread through saliva, breast milk or other bodily fluids, may cause or contribute to heart disease. Science Daily quoted a study, originally published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, claiming that CMV raised the risk of heart attack and stroke in study participants by approximately 24 percent. An accompanying editorial stated that CMV also appeared to make existing cardiovascular illnesses worse.

    Treatments

    • Dr. Green states that anti-inflammatory drugs and heart medications can treat rheumatic fever, but adds that avoiding or treating Group A strep can prevent the disease from occurring. In the case of endocarditis, doctors usually prescribe massive doses of antibiotics over a period of several weeks to bring the illness under control, according to the Mayo Clinic. For myocarditis, the Mayo Clinic lists antibiotics, corticosteroids and other drug therapies as treatment, though the most serious cases may require heart surgery or even a transplant. By contrast, CMV seems rather benign, and healthy people won't need any treatment at all. On the other hand, no medication can cure CMV, and people with weak immune systems may need antiviral drugs to slow its progression.

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