New member here joined on behalf of my partner. We're in South Wales, UK.
Tuesday morning my partner had bad chest pain and after asking him all the questions I thought he might be having a heart attack so took him to nearest local A&E. He had clot busting medication as a precaution. They said his ECG looked like he had had a heart attack and they sent him straight to one of the bigger hospitals for Angioplasty to insert a stent.
When they did the angioplasty, there was no need for the stent - vessels all fine, no collapses, no clots and no blockages. Does this mean he didn't have a heart attack? It's a little confusing. If that medicine worked, then there wouldn't be any clots would there?
They found inflammation and diagnosed pericarditis. He hasn't been unwell, but under lots of stress, does smoke (is quitting).
He's on 600mg ibuprofen 3x daily and omeprazole 1x daily.
We didn't get any discharge paperwork as our health board doesn't do thst really. (Plus he visited 3 seperate health boards in one day!) His sick note for work says "pericarditis"
This is the first time I've ever had to think about heart related stuff! Im really interested to learn. My partner is extremely anxious that he is now at more risk of a heart attack, and scared of this happening again. I'd never heard of any of the 3 types of heart inflammation until this week! We are finding it difficult to understand the condition, and wether or not he had a heart attack in the first place. It also seems that there's no clear answer to wether it will get better or worse, if it will go away or come back etc.
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OnezaHound
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I think the symptoms of pericarditis can feel much like a heart attack. I also think they would know if he had suffered a heart attack because there are markers in the blood that persist for a number of hours. Hope that helps a little.
Hi thankyou yes this helps greatly! I just feel like everything happened so quick and I just wanted him home and safe. Didn't absorb much info you know?
Yes, it’s not the best time to take much information in! I had pericarditis, luckily for only a few weeks. It has never returned
They said the ibrupofen was for the inflammation. I found it very painful....unlike my heart attacks! It was rather like having a tight band round my chest.
He must give up smoking.
There are a number of very elegant past posts from members, if you search using the top right search box.
Shocking that you didn't get any discharge paperwork. Do you mean just your partner or none at all? It's hopeless if the GP doesn't get informed of what's happened. The GP acts like an information hub and everything should be in your records. I would ask the GP if they got a letter from the hospitals. As Supafil has said they can tell if he had a heart attack by markers in the blood - raised troponin levels.
No smokes, not any more, not now , not ever and he will stay alive. Smoking causes horrible effects like causing sticky blood to develop in his blood structure , form a blockage and that will usually kill him. No looking back, just 3 words. I don't smoke.
He is young enough to recover quickly as long as he makes the changes.
Hiya Welcome to the club you never wanted to join - but we're a lovely merry band of Hearties and while we can't give medical advice (rules), we can share our personal experiences (also known as tips for coping).
As others have said, acute pericarditis so perfectly mimics heart attack many First Responders don't even suspect it, nor do A&E medics unless they do a chest x-ray and then an echocardiogram once the chest x-ray discloses fluid in the pericardial sac around the heart.
I have recurrent pericarditis - hopefully your husband will not progress to the point of his pericarditis becoming recurrent. The important thing to remember during his recovery is for him to not try pushing himself, doing so only leads to relapse and possible recurrent pericarditis. Also, he should sleep with his upper body slightly elevated (a wedge pillow or two bed pillows laid lengthwise on the bed), avoid hot baths/showers, and mould. He should sleep on his right side to avoid putting more body weight stress on his pericardium. He should be fine in about 6-8 weeks but again, he must refrain from trying to 'soldier through'.
The following link is to the BHF page on pericarditis, I've had recurrent pericarditis since the late 1990s but still find the information on the page helpful:
The following link is to the contact details page of the BHF Heart Helpline nurses - they are extremely helpful especially for newcomers to heart health issues:
Please keep us updated on how you and your husband get on. Pericarditis isn't 'fun' for patient and loved ones so know we're here for you when you need a few tips from those of us who've been there, or when you need to vent off a wee bit of steam.
Ibuprofen can cause earth attacks. I'd suggest taking Tylenol instead. It gave me one but fortunately a minor one. Sounds like he just had Pericarditis this time. Usually heart attacks cause severe sweating, pallor, and vomiting as well as chest pain.
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Welcome to the club you never wanted to join - but we're a lovely merry band of Hearties and while we can't give medical advice (rules), we can share our personal experiences (also known as tips for coping). 
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