Myopericarditis - palpitations

[Nb55]

I should start by saying I will be going back to a consultant however mentally I am struggling. After two back to back viruses resulting in myocarditis, pericarditis, and and a pericardial effusion, I am about 3 months and suffer daily with palpitations and an arrythmia. A 7 day holter showed what it called isolated SVE and 1 PVC. I swear I was pushing that button every 2 hours due to sever palpitations daily. I have had PVCs picked up on ecgs many times in the last 4 months. It notes I had mostly sinus tachycardia and occasional SVEs. Whatever these are, they take my breath away, jump into my throat, and cause dizziness . 2 short runs of SVT were detected, which I did not feel. I had one I felt this week and went straight to A&E and went home.

I have been told to lightly exercise, stress less, and go back in 2 months. I cannot even manage a half day with my 3 year old, let alone exercise. If I pick him up palpitations are induced.

I go to sleep every night fearful. I am trying to get out more, see friends, even had a chandy but I paid for that the next day.

No one has explained to me what the palpitations are from. I have had every test except the cMRI. Even had a CT angio.

My MCV levels are high so I am getting this checked, but thyroid and the rest are ok. The original bloods were high BNP, no other elevations in CRP or troponin.

Has anyone else experienced this? I can literally be laying in bed, enjoying a movie and popcorn and the palpitations just take over.

Thank you if you made it this far.

[Captain_Birdseye]

It's a tricky one to answer, but the inflammation could be causing an interruption in your cardiac rhythm.

I still get days where my heart is fluttery, try to keep calm and rest. Some folk find breathing exercises helpful for getting through them.

Your cardiologist may prescribe something to control your heart rhythm if you are concerned.

[Nb55 in reply to Captain_Birdseye]

Thank you - I will speak to him. I am breathing and relaxing and probably just impatient this is all taken over everything

[Blearyeyed]

Is your GP also doing blood tests for Vitamin B 12 and Folate levels? It is common to get Deficiencies in these after extended time trying to recover from severe infections , they can cause High MCV levels and they also cause thyroid dysfunction and more cardiac symptoms.

If they've not tested these , and your Ferritin / Iron and Vitamin D yet , I would strongly suggest that you ask for these tests.

If your tests are not deficient but low or borderline they can still cause many symptoms, so ask for your test results to check if you may need to eat more of these foods or take a supplement after the tests have been completed.

Dehydration is also a factor that can affect your heart rate and Fatigue.

As you are symptomatic and still in a long period of recovery do try to be patient with yourself.

You may want to be back on your feet but your body probably needs more time to recover and do pacing your day with a balance of rest and moderate activities will help you until the causes are found and treatment is underway.

Most people can't manage a full half day with a toddler , even if they haven't had a severe illness. You say you can't manage to exercise , but looking after a small child is exercise in itself , and often a lot more strenuous than going to the gym. You may find that you are doing a lot more than your can cope with at the moment even if it feels like you are doing a lot less than you did before.

Cooking , cleaning , gardening, child care , shopping are all exercise activities .

Take care , let us know how you get on and get those tests, hugs , Bee

[Nb55 in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thank you for your kind words. I am off to see a functional medicine specialist today and will ask about these tests. A benefit of living in Dubai is you can hand pick your doctors but it does take a lot of effort. You are right - I do take on too much some days as it feels like a "normal" person should handle it so why can't I?

[Blearyeyed in reply to Nb55]

We are still all " normal" people , it's just that we need to replace our "Old Normal " with a " New Normal" that works for us.It takes time to learn the right pace for your " New Normal" and we all try to take on too much until we learn what our pace is.

And even our " New Normal" sometimes feels like to much when our treatment isn't quite at the right level to manage our symptoms or another illness or infection comes along and upsets the balance.

I know you've got great doctors over in Dubai. I spent a couple of years out there working at a complex in the early nineties , a beautiful country , I'd love to be able to travel there again some day because I know it has changed a great deal and I'd love to see more of the country. Take care , Bee