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Background. The diagnosis of acute myocarditis (AMC) and inflammatory cardiomyopathy (DCMi) can be difficult. Speckle tracking echocardiography with accurate assessments of regional contractility could have an outstanding importance for the diagnosis. Methods and Results. N=25 patients with clinically diagnosed AMC who underwent endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) were studied prospectively. Speckle tracking imaging was examined at the beginning and during a mean follow-up period of 6.2 months. In the acute phase patients had markedly decreased left ventricular (LV) systolic function (mean LV ejection fraction (LVEF) 40.4±10.3%). At follow-up in n=8 patients, inflammation persists, correlating with a significantly reduced fractional shortening (FS, 21.5±6.0%) in contrast to those without inflammation in EMB (FS 32.1±7.1%, P