Pericarditis

Pericarditis and newly implanted PM

by crustyg - 2023-12-18 07:06:11

I am impressed by your stocism: I think most folk here would consider your post-implantation journey to have been a bit more than "minor complications"!

In short, no, pericarditis is not a common complication of new lead+PM implantation.  I wonder if in fact you had a partial perforation of the myocardium (lead repositionining, tightness/heaviness in chest) which has now resulted in inflammation of the pericardium.  A pneumothorax from lead placement suggests poor technique, I'm afraid, or really difficult veins - or dehydration (I was dry when implanted and spent some minutes head-down on the table to get my upper body veins to fill properly).

Colchine: it's an old drug for suppression of inflammation.  It almost always causes diarrhoea in typical doses, *but* it does not cause salt-and-water retention (unlike all aspirin-related drugs) which is why it's been chosen for you.

Yes there is a condition, myocarditis, where the heart muscle itself is inflamed, which is really serious and very different to pericarditis.

In your shoes I would already have a request in for all of my notes, including all operative notes, imaging during and after the implantation, not because I want to reach for my lawyer, but because I want to know the truth.  In the USA you have a legal right to all of your medical notes as we do in the UK.

Pericarditis

by Lavender - 2023-12-18 08:03:45

I do not believe pericarditis is common with pacemaker insertion. 

In 2019, long before my pacemaker was inserted, I got pericarditis. My mom is in a nursing home. She was about to fall and I caught her-putting all her weight on my chest and pulling it. I got costochondritis-rib cartilage strain. That led to pericarditis. An echocardiogram showed it. 
 

Pericarditis was the most painful experience I've ever experienced. I had to take shallow breaths. My chest was so tight. I had to sleep propped up with ice packs. The pain was as if an elephant was sitting on my chest. 
 

I took .6 colchicine twice a day for six months. I also was prescribed carafate for the stomach. I also was told to rub diclofenac on my chest. (I think that's no longer recommended with a pacemaker.)

The cardiologist had me taking 800 mg of ibuprofen four times a day-which further eroded my stomach. The whole experience was awful. My stomach has never been the same-I developed functional dyspepsia from the ibuprofen. Thankfully she moved away and is no longer my cardiologist.  
 

I feel for you. It can get resolved but it takes time. Sometimes it can recur, but I haven't had it again and hope it never comes back. I hope you recover quickly. My deepest compassion is for you because I truly understand.  ❤️‍🩹

sleeping on left side

by Solomon - 2023-12-20 18:44:43

Thank you for your feedback. 

I am now starting to think that my inflammation (pericarditis and/or other) is not only from the original surgery complications. The surgeon took into account my active epee fencing activity and said he gave me a slightly longer lead. I have since read that too long a lead can act like a spring. 

I have noticed that when I roll onto my left side I can feel my shoulder pressing on the PM. Within an hour, sometimes shorter, I feel the irritation in my chest again.  Since my inflammation waxes and wanes, I think it is being aggravated by repeated insults, not just a holdover from surgery 3 months ago.  

Does anyone else have any knowledge of positional issues causing irritation or pain?