Pericarditis

[stevek]

My husband has been complaining of a pain in his chest that increases with movement. We have ruled out heart attack. We have considered gerd but I came across this disease and it matches better. He has complained of pain behind and to the left of his sternum, a pain that increases when he moves. He is currently getting over a pretty bad cold and the weather is around 25-35 degrees in the last week or two from the 60s. The pain just started after a week end of picking up leaves. He has had this pain before and we went to the doctor and did all the heart attack test and he is very healthy so all that was negative. That was a year ago. He had pnuenomia in February and I know I read something about viral infections etc. that might have to do with it. Can anyone describe how you feel in detail when this is goin on and how they diagnose it. Who should we see. Thanks.

[Linny]

I have had recurring pericarditis for almost 7 years now - im 21 years old - female I know that it is a lot more common amont males 20-50. There are many different ways to get it mine is idiopathic I think it may have been from a virus because of the tools at the dentist.

I call my incidents in which the pain comes back "flare ups" - i was off all meds for six months and just yesterday (thanksgiving) I had another - the winter season and the temperature changes are easily reasons why it pain can keep coming back - my cardiologist informed me of that and from experiencing it myself I can say that the cold temperate is not helping.

Specifically - it feels like a stabbing pain - like your chest is about to burst because it feels like there is constant pressure all of the time. My back, neck, and chest usually all hurt at the same time - I often get a sore throat or an earache or ocassional ear pains when I am going through it. I am on 500 mg of naproxen twice a day - I was on Colchicine which was helping but they took me off of it because at that time I was only 19 and what they thought was way too young to be on it. I am only 21 now. I carry Vicodin with me wherever I go - when the pain starts and gets bad I usually take one , sit down, lean forward and I am able to calm down. I have hypervenilated before because it was so difficult to breath so If I can calm myself down it helps a lot as added stress certainly doesn't help the pain.

If i get sick with a cold or the flu the percarditis will usually come back and worsen the sickness and the symptoms so I take your typical one a day multivitamin and they have actually helped a lot in keeping my immune system up the par - I make sure to get a flu shot every year as well.

It is really frustrating to deal with- I find myself very tired all I really want to do is sleep and I want to lead a normal life and go out, work out, be active etc - but rest is important and often requires more than 2 weeks of rest. It sounds like the pneumonia is what could have done it.

I went to the cardiologist and got an EKC, eco-cardiogram, did a tredmil test etc - it is important to find out whther there is fluid build up in the sac of the heart because then the heart can be constricted and that will lead to many problems - however the ultrasound can usually tell if there is inflammation around the heart and that is how they are often able to diagnose it - getting all the tests cant hurt because you want to know for sure.


Good luck to you and your husband!

[ginny1]

I have had recurring ideopathic viral pericarditis for about 6 months now. The symptoms start with problems with inhalation (hurts to take a deep breath in), left and right front sided chest pain (kind of along your armpit area and radiating across the chest), a dry cough, sore throat, then the pain gets worse and you feel like it just won't go away. I had just about every test youcould possibly have. I have pericarditis. Go see a cardiologist, get colchicine (most medical journals mention this as a way to get rid of it eventually, especially if you have not already started on steroids for the condition). There are several other good non-steroidal anti-inflammatories to get to go along with the colchicine, but the key seems to be to start the NSAIDs and the colchicine before the steroids. The condition is usually self-limiting and seldom moves in constrictive or calcification levels of the pericarditis--but only a cardiologist can tell you for sure. Don't wait for it to get worse! I am not a doctor--I just have spent a lot of time researching this to see what I had and if I would get worse. I still am trying to get over it myself!
Ginny1

[jferestad]

Two nights ago I was working and a pain right below my back under my left scapula (mid chest) area started and became increasingly worse. Not dropping me to my knees but enough that I knew something was wrong. Blood pressure and pulse went up- a little short of breath- I had been having some pain in the front left lower area- like burning for 2-3 days previous (for me it was almost right under my front left bottom rib)- went to the ER for cardiac workup- cat scan with contrast done (doctor thought I had a blood clot in my lung) and the pericarditits showed up. Don't stop asking until you get an answer- my dad had GERD for 5+ years and the doctors always attributed his pain to that- he just had bypass surgery after a small MI a month ago. Good luck with the diagnosis. Jody

[reggie]

I'm female, 35, 5'6" 149 lbs. Healthy, I don't work out, but I'm active and watch what I eat. 2 years ago I went to my physician due to a "dull, consistent ache/pain" in my left chest. It was right under my left breast, but I could not actually pin point it. It's a pain "inside" in that area, not on the surface, no bruising. Just an ache that always seems to be there. It really bothers me when I'm trying to lay down to sleep, sometimes bothers me while driving or sitting, pretty much bothers me all the time. If I roll my shoulders around dramatically the pain becomes more apparent. The doctor ordered a stress test and an echo. Also ekg, boarderline bradicardia. Stress test was fine, echo was fine, blood pressure fine, everything was perfect. I was diagnosed with gerd and took the medication prescribed. It didn't really do anything for me, but I continued taking it. That was 2 years ago. I became accustom to the ache and basically tried to ignore it.

8 months ago my blood tests showed a high number for thyroid. I went back for blood test 6 months later to see if anything had change... number was higher. So now I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I've been on the medication for two months. Blood test last week proved the medication was working. I told the doctor about my continued dull ache and he referred me to a gastroenterologist. When I described my area of constant discomfort today, stood up and pointed to the area and described the "inside" dull ache/pain, he simply stated it's not gerd, has nothing to do with your esophagus or stomach. He ordered a UGI Series and a Chest x-ray. As I began researching my symptoms tonight, after my doctor appointment, pericarditis seems to be the most logical answer for my pain. The gastro doctor was suggesting the pain could be my lung.

I tried to explain my pain as best as possible to those of you on this forum. Anyone else experiencing the same? I'm not one to self diagnose, but only I know where it hurts, how it hurts.... just finding out about my recent diagnosis for hypothyroisism and the correlation between the two allows me to conclude it could possibly be pericarditis. Not sure, but I feel confident.

[Zola]

If you have pericarditis, you will likely experience flu-like symptoms (feeling weak and aching) and you will also have intense pain in your chest or upper left shoulder, especially when you lie down or breathe deeply. The pain will be much less intense if you are seated upright and leaning forward. This can be a life-threatening condition. Seek a diagnosis ASAP (from an emergency room if necessary).