Pericarditis and pericardial effusion

[Westie2012]

Has anyone here had this happen to them? Mine happened after I’d had a pacemaker fitted and a lead put a hole in the heart. I’ve had such a traumatic experience over the last three weeks.

[Sunnie2day]

I'm in the middle of an acute flare of pericarditis. I've had 'recurrent pericarditis' since the late 1990s. Mine came about as a consequence of having Dengue Fever Stage2 but others have been diagnosed with pericarditis after an impact to the chest including heart surgeries, viral or bacterial infection (as in my case), and still others for no apparent reason at all.

The important thing is to do all you can to avoid progressing to recurrent pericarditis - right now you have a chance to prevent the pericarditis becoming 'chronic'.

If you can tolerate it, Colchicine (a gout medicine that also is excellent for pericarditis) works a treat. Also helpful when effusion is present but not significant enough to warrant a drain (trust me - if you can avoid a pericardiocentesis you will think you've won the lottery!) is the diuretic furosemide. Lol, just don't get too far from the convenience!

Avoid:

*Mould

*Hot steamy baths/showers

*'Pushing' to do anything - do not try to 'soldier through', it's the worst thing you can do when you have pericarditis.

Also important with a case of pericarditis:

*Report any coughing when lying down to the medics and do so with real urgency - coughing whilst reclined usually indicates an increase of the effusion and is an emergency situation.

*Sleep with your upper body slight raised and if you're a 'side sleeper' make sure you sleep on your RIGHT side - sleeping on your left side makes the pain worse from body weight on the pericardial sac. Wedge pillow or pillows laid lengthwise to raise your body will help with the pain and the breathing.

*A hot water bottle placed between left breast and the back, along the side of your ribs, helps ease the pain.

*That old wives tale about chicken soup is no myth - it really helps even if 'just tinned'. If you can find one with lots of chicken meat and lots of noodles, you'll see what I mean - a nice mug of chicken soup and a couple pieces of buttered toast do wonders for improving appetite and general attitude.

All the best to you. It's not the nicest condition but made worse when recovering from surgery. The worst thing about pericarditis after the pain (that so perfectly mimics a heart attack that you think you're on the verge of expiring) is the way you'll have 'good days' during which you think you're recovered so you try to do some catch-up on household chores or exercise - which then leads to 'bad days' (I've been in the bad days phase for several days now, I know better but did too much on a good day...). It's the worst roller coaster ride - but with care you will make it through !

Please keep us updated.