Pericarditis Anxiety

I went two weeks before being correctly diagnosed with pericarditis. It was originally diagnosed as GERD. I've only been on NSAIDs and Colchicine now for a week, and the symptoms haven't fully subsided.

I've become quite the wreck, which is almost non-existant for me. I've developed a lot of anxiety. I've convinced myself of going years without doctors visits (more than a decade, but I have one now) has brought this on myself with my poor lifestyle (obesity and poor eating habits, with mostly-sedentary lifestyle). I'm assuming that if it was something more serious (like there was fluid in the pericardium), they would have kept me in the hospital; they only performed a chest x-ray, took blood work, and used an electrocardiogram though. My PCP is going to try and isolate any causes in an effort to make sure it's acute and idiopathic, but my physical is still more than a month away, and my appointment with my cardiologist referral is about three weeks away, making dealing with the anxiety difficult.

I've never heard of pericarditis before, and trying to look stuff up on the internet is difficult since none of the information is consistent at all. I'm not looking for a personal diagnosis, and I understand that nothing given to me or posted here should be taken in lieu of an actual medical consultation. I'm just trying to relieve my anxiety a bit.

Is going so long without a correct diagnosis affect my recovery any?
Is anxiety an actual symptom of pericarditis?
Is there any way to differentiate between acute pericarditis and recurrent pericarditis?
Is recurrence common? How often does pericarditis reoccur if I do have recurrent pericarditis?
Would the hospital have told me if there was fluid buildup in my pericardium?
It is possible my pericarditis was the result of a silent heart attack?

...I feel silly asking all these questions now, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

[kenkeith]

Its difficult to say whether not being quickly diagnosed is problematic as sometimes mild pericarditis cases may improve on their own. Treatment for more-severe cases may include medications and, rarely, surgery. It is true early diagnosis and treatment may help to reduce the risk of long-term complications. Two weeks is not a long time and the condition can improve within 2 weeks.
.
In pericarditis, with EKG there are often abnormalities that sometimes can help with the diagnosis. Unfortunately, many normal variants can mimic the changes in pericarditis or the EKG may be normal. An EKG is not a reliable source to diagnose pericarditis.

A chest x-ray may suggest enlargement of heart tissue and can be used to rule out other problems within the chest.

Blood testing can be used to look for specific causes of pericarditis like infection, leukemia, kidney failure, connective tissue diseases or thyroid abnormalities.

It is  an echocardiography or ultrasound of the heart that is often used to confirm the diagnosis. The cardiologist looks for the presence of fluid in the pericardial sac, although in many mild cases of acute pericarditis, there is no pericardial fluid seen with echocardiography.

If the underlying cause for pericarditis is viral or bacterial, the proper treatment of the infection can prevent further episodes....A silent heart attack would not cause pericarditis. Anxiety is not a recognized symptom for pericarditis.

The doctor will assess: the quality of pain, what brings it on, what makes it better, and did come on gradually or quickly and what other symptoms may be present. You may have had some feed back from your doctor, and your experience for your own assessment

[DorkimusMaximus]

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate it.

[kenkeith]

Thank you for taking the time to respond.  I wish you well, take care.

[Michy40]

My friend has been diagnosed with pericarditis 5 weeks ago. She has a very physical and stressful job, will she be able to do the same job when she is better