Help.

[mumma-03]

My son had a n ECG done. And yesterday I got told by Dr he has fluid around his heart. I'm confused on how has this happnd

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

You don't say how old your son is - is he 5 or 50? Gum disease and/or rotten teeth can be a trigger. Fluid around the heart is usually caused by a viral infection. Has he had the virus responsible for the pandemic? The good news it is treatable (better caught now than months down the road). The bad news is that it may take months and sometimes years to fully recover.

[mumma-03 in reply to MichaelJH]

His 16. His previously had eye surgery t

[mumma-03 in reply to MichaelJH]

Plus he has a dip in middle of his chest

[mumma-03 in reply to MichaelJH]

His got nothing wrong with his teeth

[Purpleazalia]

Hi mumma, you might find the information on the NHS site helpful.

nhs.uk/conditions/pericardi...

It can be a lot to take in when we are first told there is a medical problem, I find it helps to write down any questions I have and take them with me to my next appointment.

I hope all goes well and he is soon back to his usual activities 😊

[mumma-03 in reply to Purpleazalia]

I'll jot down questions. The Dr is getting hold of a consultant in Southampton

[Captain_Birdseye]

It must be scary watching your child go through this. But it sounds like something you'd need to ask the doctor really - we don't have access to his records or the medical training required to diagnose. You haven't mentioned any other symptoms your son may have had to narrow things down?

I will share my loosely related experience though...

I wasn't aware that an ECG could pick up fluid around the heart - usually an echo is required for this. My consultant believes I have a small amount of fluid around my heart as a result of pericarditis - but I need to have the echo to confirm.

Pericarditis is often (but not always) caused by an infection, but can result from other issues where there has been something going on with the heart- in my case, myocarditis. I have chest pain every day and it is worse when sitting back, or lying on my back or left hand side. At night if I lie on my back my breathing becomes more difficult.

With the myocarditis, I had chest pain but it wasn't positional, I got short of breath moving around, the pain took up the whole top left quarter of my body and I had pin and needles quite frequently too.

This is not intended as a diagnosis guide, but just my experience. You may need to give a little more information for us to able to answer your question... but as your son is 16, please ask his consent before sharing anything he might not be comfortable with. This is an anonymous forum, but it is still the internet.

As others have suggested, start making a note of any questions you have for your medical team... it can be a bit daunting in the moment, but it's important that both you and your son are reassured, and that starts with getting some answers.

[mumma-03]

Well do