Heat attack or Pericarditus.

Good Day to You All.
On Christmas day i was taken into hospital with what i was told was a heart attack,they told me this within minutes of doing a ECG,they also did some sort of enzine test which was 126,i was told this was very high as most people are around 0.1
I had a pain in my chest and all the way down the left arm,also had dry mouth,they gave me some sort of clot buster drug,beta blockers and asprin.
So for around 4 days i was treated for a heart attack,but then they seem to think its pericarditus which i understand is some sort of swelling round the heart.
I am trying to do my homework and find out what i can and i just have a few questions as i need to find out what i have had.
If it was peracarditus would i of had the pains in my left arm,jaw and would the enzine test of been so high ?
Is there any way i can find out for sure if i have had a heart attack or if it was peracarditus ?
The reason for all this my insurance will only pay out if i have had a heart attack,i really am not wishing bad health on myself to obtain money,i have paid my insurance for years and feel i have had a heart attack and really could to with the money as i have no idea when i will be fit for work again.
Im a 32 year old male,dont drink or smoke,but do have a great deal of stress with my own business.
Many Thanks
Robert

[CCF-M.D.-KE]

Dear Sir,

Sorry to hear about your recent illness. Pericarditis is an inflammation in the lining of the sac which contains the heart. The electrocardiogram seen in pericarditis may resemble that of an acute heart attack, but there are some differences which may help distinguish them.
1. It is possible to experience the symptoms you describe and have elevated enzymes with pericarditis. However, typically patients have sharp chest pain that is worsened by inspiration. The pain may be decreased by sitting up or leaning forward.

2. The electrocardiogram may be the first place to start in distinguishing pericarditis from a myocardial infarction (heart attack). Also, an echocardiogram may be able to help distinguish the 2 processes. Lastly, there are a number of cardiac markers that can be measured to determine mycardial damage. In particular the CK-MB usually rises rapidly and falls rapidly following a heart attack. However, in  a person with pericarditis it may remain elevated for a prolonged period of time(1-2weeks). You should consider talking with your doctor and bringing up the these specific concerns, through further testing he or she may be able to more definitively determine what happened.

Thanks for your question,


CCF-MD-KE

[Jedithx]

Thankyou so very much for the info,i am leaning all i can about this and will talk with the doctor who i still have to wait another 2 weeks to see.
Its now 3:30pm and have just got out of bed,i find it very easy to do nothing and im so tired all the time which i guess is normal,the only thing new which wories me a bit is a pain down the back of both legs to my feet which seems to hurt more at night,i have had this for a few days now.
Many Thanks
Robert

[rcf]

I had a triple by-pass surgery 10 years ago at age 47-no heart attack. Three months after surgery I developed pericartitis or (Dresslers Syndrome) I have had it on and off for the past ten years. From what I understand, it has to do with the immune system.Somehow it becomes sensitized to its own heart and heart covering. It makes antibodies that attack the heart covering and that causes the pain. After you get it several times, you learn to recognize it. My Cardiologist puts me on predisone 10mg for several days, which gets rid of it. I had it once several years ago and it took several months to get rid of it. If your Dr. performs a doppler echo-they will see the effusion around the heart. Hopes this helps.