Effects of a viral infection when you have a pacemaker or after having pericarditis and effusion

[Westie2012]

Not been feeling great since Monday , gp sent me to hospital as I was getting out of breath , racing heart and chest tightness after walking to my daughters school , all cardiac checks ok so put down to a viral infection , I’m waiting to see my cardiologist but that won’t be until next month, my gp is going to try to get my appointment arranged quickly but probably not much chance of that happening . Just wondering if viral infections could have more of an effect on my heart now I have a pacemaker , I also had pericarditis and an effusion caused by a pacemaker lead moving.

[Sunnie2day]

Morning, Westie, I hope you're feeling a bit better today.

I don't have a pacemaker and hopefully someone who does will come along to share their experiences - but I do have recurrent pericarditis with residual effusion that never completely drains, pericardial thickening and scarring as well and I can say with confidence having the condition makes it imperative to do all possible to avoid viral (or bacterial, for that matter) infections.

I do everything I can to avoid catching anything, bacterial or viral - the recurrent pericarditis and residual effusion make me susceptible to 'severe complications' and everyone I know or read about with the same condition says the same.

What is a simple virus for others can cause life-threatening complications for recurrent pericarditis people. For example, whilst working in the USA I caught H1N1 during that pandemic and was in hospital for weeks with complications including increased effusion to the point they wheeled a portable echo into my ICU unit and checked hourly for several days to see if they needed to insert a drain. How I managed to avoid hospital when I had Covid in the first wave still surprises me - but I was quite unwell with the active virus for weeks thinking it was just a very heavy cold that became 'walking pneumonia', I really should have sought medical care but didn't (stubbornly stupid is me, my grans used to call me 'muley').

I'm sorry for the long reply but the plain fact is, when pericarditis becomes severe enough to warrant medical intervention, it usually becomes a life-long condition requiring 'lifestyle adjustments' including 'extreme hygiene' - when the guidance for this Covid pandemic came out I confess to laughing as the measures are things I've done since 1999.

The one thing I do that has been the most successful? I carry a spray bottle of 70% Isopropyl Alcohol with me everywhere and I use it liberally on parcels arriving in the post, trolley grips, handrails, door furniture, public convenience sanitary-ware, my hands, items I've bought as I'm loading them into the car boot...