Advice?

[JDS2805]

I have a detailed history so please bear with me=) I'm a 30 y/o white male. I was diagnosed with pericarditis back in December of '09. During that time I had numerous EKG's- some were normal some were abnormal. The Echo showed the pericarditis- and they said nothing about EF factor so I assume it was ok. I also had a stress test, nuclear scan, cardiac bloodwork- all normal. In July '10 I had a heart cath because I was still having some mild chest pain and shortness of breath- again the cardiologist said it was okay. I had a follow up with him last week and once again had an abnormal EKG- my blood pressure and pulse were normal. He's ordering another ECHO- I had another chest X-Ray and bloodwork- all normal. I do have mild fbromyalgia so sometimes I can't tell if the pain is from that and the shortness or breath is because I can't work out as vigirously anymore. I guess my question is with all the other tests being normal withing the last 8 months(bloodwork, heart CT, chest x-ray) could there still be something wrong or could I be having another bout of pericarditis. I have no family history of heart disease. I do have slightly low good cholesterol but since my hearth cath was clear the doctor said that's not an issue right now. Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[TheButchersWife]

The best way to determine what type of heart problems you may be dealing with is to have an echo. That is the test that alone diagnosed my husband with congestive heart failure. His EKG came back irregular, his MRI didn't show anything alarming, but as soon as the started the echo, they could tell us multiple things that were wrong with his heart, even down to a leaky valve. He sees a CHF specialist every 6 months, and they update his echo every time, also anytime he has a trip to the E.R. or hospital for any reason related to his heart. I would suggest having an updated echo, because something as simple as a virus can cause MAJOR heart problems. My husbands CHF is from a virus that only had one symptom, a slight fever for 2 days. The doctors told us that had we had testing done shortly after the virus, he could have been helped, and maybe been partially cured of the CHF, but since we delayed having him checked, it was in a very advanced state. They told us that anytime anyone is showing any kind of symptoms that may be related to the heart, they should have any testing that they have had done in the past re-done.I'm VERY new to this site, so I may be answering questions you have answers for already, and if so, I'm sorry...

[ed34]

My arteries were clear according to an angiogram that was one year old. I started to feel chest pains and visited a cardiologist who said "your angio from a year ago looks fine, it isn't your heart". Two months later I had a heart attack due to 2 new blockages which had formed in that time and were 99%. You can't go by test results that old, especially if new or recurring symptoms occur.
Something else which bothers me is when the paramedics arrived, they did 2 ECG's. I had lots of chest pain (on a scale 1-10 they were 9). Both the results showed normal and they asked if I would like to go to hospital to have it checked further. At the hospital my Troponin was very elevated proving there was indeed a problem. So, I don't have much faith in tests anymore. I'm not happy until I see my vessels during an angiogram.

[JDS2805]

Yup. I had a stress test about a year ago and my last ECHO was about 8 months ago- stress test was normal and the only abnormality on the ECHO was the pericarditis- aside from an abnormal EKG(which isn't new for me) every test in the last year- X-Ray, CT Scan, Heart Cath, Nuclear Scan, Cardiac Blood work have all been normal. The only thing I can guess is the pericarditis left a very small amount of scar tissue which may be the reason for the ECHO to make sure more hasn't developed.

[ed34]

The best way to detect heart failure early is through an echo scan. How about a stress test? have you had one to determine if your heart has any ischemia issues?

[JDS2805]

Thanks! I'm just puzzled- I highly doubt it's anything related to heart failure since 8 months ago I had a textbook heart cath, my bloodwork is always normal, and my X-Rays have been normal- only issue is the abnormal EKG's which I've had in past times- any time the EKG is abnormal it's always the same. I would think if heart failure was involved something would have shown in the bloodwork or chest xray

[ed34]

If you have had tests such as x-rays and a CT scan, then I very much doubt if pericarditis is involved again. You would require a fair amount of fluid to give your symptoms and this would show up on both those tests.