Pericardial Cyst Please Help

[LIZ1971]

Dear Sir,

I'm a 37 year old single mom to a beautiful 15 month old baby girl.  I was recently hospitalized after I attended at the ER for some chest discomfort and thinking I was getting a bout of bronchitis.  I was given a Spiral CT Scan with Dye and told I had a pulmonary embolism.  They came back 2 days later and told me I didn't have a PE that it was just phsyiological defect (pardon my spelling) (this is after being treated with Lovenox for 2 days and STILL being in the hospital).  They also mentioned that I "May" have a pericardial cyst which showed up on the CT Scan however didn't show up on the Echocardiogram.  The Dr. also mentioned that the pressure on one side of my heart was a little high (should be 75 was 77) but nothing to worry about.  I was sent home and told to follow up with my family Dr.  Needless to say I am terrified.

What is a pericardial cyst? What are the dangers of it? What is this internal heart pressure they are talking about? I'm an axiety sufferer and a person who "the internet is NOT my friend".  I also fear pericardidis and pericardial tamponade.     I was not given any sizing or anything regarding the "Maybe" cyst and it was pretty much just brushed off and I was sent home.     I just had a physical and my cholesterol is perfect, my BP is normally about 112/74, no heart problems in the family.  I have overweight but working on it having shed 50+ pounds so far.

Should I be seeking further evaluation?

Many many thanks
Elizabeth

[LIZ1971]

Thanks for commenting :o)  I am seeing a Cardiologist on March 2 just be further investigate though my family GP doesn't think it's necessary.  It's only after I insisted that she agreed to send the referral.  Anxiety is such a horrible disease.  I'm getting help for it as well but as you well know its a very slow process.  I was hoping for a female Cardiologist but the one my GP uses is male.  Apparently he is "one of the best" however I have lost ALOT of faith in the medical community the last few months.

Take care
Elizabeth

[Cleveland Clinic]

Pericaridal cyst is a congenital abnormality which causes retention of accumulated pericardial fluid. If the diagnosis is made correctly then this is of no further significance, and does not progress to tamponade or constrictive pericarditis. If you question the diagnosis, then you may want to seek the opinion of an imaging specialist at a tertiary care facility.
I am not sure what the pressure is that they are talking about, normally the pressures on the right side are less than 35 not 75. If so then this may be normal, as the error in measuring these velocities and pressures may add 2-3 m/sec in the measurement.
If it was in fact 75 m/s then this is significantly high, and you should be seen by a pulmonary hypertension specialist.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

hi Elizabeth do you have a cardio dr? if not i would get one for your peace of mind. am sure if they thought something was wrong with your heart or you was in any danger they would of not sent home or got the hospital cardio dr to see you . i can understand the anxiety about the heart am the same way. i have a great cardio dr and trust her, so see one and get relief no reason to stress if you dont need to. stay in touch