Viral coronary arteritis and myocardial infarction.

Two young male patients are described in whom a viral type of upper respiratory tract infection was followed by myocardial infarction. Based upon previously reported experimental studies in mice and monkeys in which Coxsackie B4 virus produced extensive coronary arterial and capillary injury, and upon the clinical data in these two patients, it is suggested that the myocardial infarcts in our two patients were the result of viral coronary arteritis.