My heart..

[Alysia]

Hi.

I got back today the results of the echo-doppler of my broken heart.

I will see my GP next week and will prob set a meeting with a cardio dr. I dont have this kind of dr. Yet.

I copy those results which are not in the normal:

Small pericardial effusion
Mild pulmonary regurgitation
Mild + mitral regurgitation
Mild moderate tricuspid regurgitaion.

From the little reading that I already did, pericardial effusion can occur in AI diseases.

Anyone around knows more ?

My symptom is only feeling the heart beating with force in the chest. Mostly in rest and when I am very tired. So if anyone else feel it, please go check yours. My EKG was ok, btw.

Thank you all for being here. I love you ♡

[gilders]

So sorry to read that you're having heart complications.
The only positive is that the problems have been found before they progress to moderate or severe.

I also have heavy feeling heartbeats, but mine is due to ectopic heartbeats.
My Left Ventricular Dysfunction was initially diagnosed as moderate to severe, but more recent echo tests have shown improvement. Hopefully your heart problems will also improve.

I pressume you've had kidney function tests recently? Renal failure can also cause pericardial effusion.

[MaxD]

Alysia,

Yes, pericarditis is one of the possibilities with auto-immune disease. Basically it is fluid collecting in the pericardial sac that covers the heart. Normally treated with anti-inflammatories like indomethacin, but in our case upping dose of prednisone should do wonders. If you don't wish to increase prednisone, and the discomfort is mild, you might find some comfort by leaning forward. Or try ibuprofen even. Leaning back or lying down will make it uncomfortable again.

With pericarditis, as the amount of fluid increases, it constrains the heart which doesn't have enough space to expand completely. That might be causing you to feel the heart beats.

Someone close to me developed pericarditis as a result of a very severe traumatic injury. It was uncomfortable at first, then painful - eventually developed into tamponade, requiring emergency procedure to drain the fluids out. I'm not saying this to add to your worries - before anyone even nears that stage, it is already excruciatingly painful. You seem to have a very mild case which will be treated with drugs.

Take care, and hope you get to see your GP and cardiologist soon. All the best!

[Alysia]

So sorry to read that you're having heart complications.
The only positive is that the problems have been found before they progress to moderate or severe.

I also have heavy feeling heartbeats, but mine is due to ectopic heartbeats.
My Left Ventricular Dysfunction was initially diagnosed as moderate to severe, but more recent echo tests have shown improvement. Hopefully your heart problems will also improve.

I pressume you've had kidney function tests recently? Renal failure can also cause pericardial effusion.

Thanks a lot, dear Pete, for your encouragement and support. You are very kind. I am glad your heart problem had improved.
As for kidney function test - is it the creatinine ?
Lately it was up to 0.95. The high border of the norm. My wg dr. said that the creatinine increases in flares even when there is no kidneys' involvement. When I was in remission my creatinine was around .80.

[Alysia]

Alysia,

Yes, pericarditis is one of the possibilities with auto-immune disease. Basically it is fluid collecting in the pericardial sac that covers the heart. Normally treated with anti-inflammatories like indomethacin, but in our case upping dose of prednisone should do wonders. If you don't wish to increase prednisone, and the discomfort is mild, you might find some comfort by leaning forward. Or try ibuprofen even. Leaning back or lying down will make it uncomfortable again.

With pericarditis, as the amount of fluid increases, it constrains the heart which doesn't have enough space to expand completely. That might be causing you to feel the heart beats.

Someone close to me developed pericarditis as a result of a very severe traumatic injury. It was uncomfortable at first, then painful - eventually developed into tamponade, requiring emergency procedure to drain the fluids out. I'm not saying this to add to your worries - before anyone even nears that stage, it is already excruciatingly painful. You seem to have a very mild case which will be treated with drugs.

Take care, and hope you get to see your GP and cardiologist soon. All the best!

Thank you so much, dear Max, for the wealth of info. Your explanations are always very clear.
Then there are good news - my old good pred should make it - I just wonder how much will be enough ? Do you or others around know ?

I just upped it from 5mg to 10mg after few friends adviced me to, on another thread, since my wg is still active. Not sure 10 mg will be enough for the heart..

My GP will hardly know anything. I teach him about wg. No idea how long will it take to see a cardio dr. We can set meetings on the internet but there was a date only for the end of June. Maybe on the phone or with GP referal it will be faster.

[Alysia]

P.s. Max, I think ibuprofan might not be ok. Please read here : Ibuprofen Uses, Dosage & Side Effects - Drugs.com (http://www.drugs.com/ibuprofen.html)

[MaxD]

P.s. Max, I think ibuprofan might not be ok. Please read here : Ibuprofen Uses, Dosage & Side Effects - Drugs.com (http://www.drugs.com/ibuprofen.html)

Alysia,

I'm not a doctor and I wouldn't recommend self-treatment, nor self-diagnosis. If it is pericarditis, ibuprpofen is a gentle NSAID that is tried, before advancing to indomethacin and others, and as a last resort prednisone is used. Here's an informative link:
Understanding Pericarditis (Drs. Klein & Johnston 1/13/14) (http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/patient-education/webchats/pericardial-conditions/1582_understanding-pericarditis)

However, since you're already on prednisone, what's the right thing to do? I hope you can call your GP and push him to consult with the cardiologist and tell you what to do until you see him. If you aren't in acute pain, he might just ask you to wait and see. But if it starts getting worse, you will want it examined and treated. As always, reducing the inflammation only treats the symptoms, the docs will want to figure out the root cause. If you increase the prednisone it may be more difficult to diagnose the problem - but now, I'm getting ahead of myself!

How about getting a nice cup of tea, a little halva to go with it, and a movie? That should do the trick!

[Alysia]

Thanks Max for the info, the thoughful comment and the cup of tea with Halva. Actually I love Halva although its not good for my poor stomach.

I dont feel much pain in the heart. Only little and the feeling of the heart knocking with force on the chest. Which is not comfortable.

My GP thinks that the effusion is wg related. Although he only knows about wg from me. He thinks that the palpitations that I have are not related to the echo results, but are an anxiety. I told him that I know myself good enough to tell that I am not anxious and that this is not anxiety.

Now I try to set a date with cardiologist.

Thanks ♡♡♡

[gilders]

Thanks a lot, dear Pete, for your encouragement and support. You are very kind. I am glad your heart problem had improved.
As for kidney function test - is it the creatinine ?
Lately it was up to 0.95. The high border of the norm. My wg dr. said that the creatinine increases in flares even when there is no kidneys' involvement. When I was in remission my creatinine was around .80.

Hi Alysia. When I said kidney function test, it wasn't one particular result from the test I was suggesting you look at, just the overall function. eGFR is usually the best one to go by as the results are made up from various factors, such as creatinine and the numbers are easy to understand, it is an estimate of how well your kidneys are working. For example an eGFR of 28 would translate as kidneys working at approximately 28%.
In the UK we measure creatinine in µmol/L mine is around 415 at the moment, which is 4.69mg/dL, or around 15%
Doing a few sums, your eGFR (from your latest 0.95 result) is approximately 71%. Your previous eGFR was approximately 87%. (Both approximate as I don't know your age and did the calculations based on 35 year old)
Most people do not feel the effects of kidney failure until they go below 20%, so in that sense you're doing extremely well.
But a drop from 87% to 71% is significant enough (in my opinion) to keep a close eye on and repeat kidney function tests a little more regularly until they have settled down.

Therefore, the fluid around your heart is probably not connected to renal failure as 71% function should not cause any notable problems.

[Alysia]

Hi Alysia. When I said kidney function test, it wasn't one particular result from the test I was suggesting you look at, just the overall function. eGFR is usually the best one to go by as the results are made up from various factors, such as creatinine and the numbers are easy to understand, it is an estimate of how well your kidneys are working. For example an eGFR of 28 would translate as kidneys working at approximately 28%.
In the UK we measure creatinine in µmol/L mine is around 415 at the moment, which is 4.69mg/dL, or around 15%
Doing a few sums, your eGFR (from your latest 0.95 result) is approximately 71%. Your previous eGFR was approximately 87%. (Both approximate as I don't know your age and did the calculations based on 35 year old)
Most people do not feel the effects of kidney failure until they go below 20%, so in that sense you're doing extremely well.
But a drop from 87% to 71% is significant enough (in my opinion) to keep a close eye on and repeat kidney function tests a little more regularly until they have settled down.

Therefore, the fluid around your heart is probably not connected to renal failure as 71% function should not cause any notable problems.

Dear Pete.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for this clear and wonderful explanations about the eGFR and kidneys functions. I never knew what eGFR means. So I now went to check mine:

Your calculations are perfect: my last eGFR is 72 and it was 86 in February. The border of the norm is 70. So I will sure keep an eye on it.

I suggest you to post that info which is in your post here, also in the sub forum for kidneys and dialysis. It can help many.

I just sent you pm & I keep you in my daily prayers.

[Alysia]

An update:

It took a while until I have found a decent cardio dr. And did another heart echo.
First cardio dr. Was dumb. Knew nothing and didnt even bother to know. He didnt even read the echo results right. The meeting was over after less then 5 min. Never again. Every 3 months we can change a dr. So the new cardio dr. Was professional, caring and sweet. One of those docs who are curious about us and ask more to learn. And even say something compassionate like: "Dont you have times without symptoms" ?

He said that a "broken heart" can influence the heart but he counted it under the title of stress. Any stress can, he said.

He said that my regurgitations are prob my "structure" and are there many years.

The main issue is the effusion. The fluids. In the second echo there are less fluids. Thanks God.

He said that fluids can accumulate in the heart as a reaction to an infection going on somewhere else in the body. He thinks thats my case. He said that prednisone indeed can dry the fluids (In the last months I took more pred, even up to 30mg for short periods).

2506

[mishb]

This is a good/great report then.

I'm glad you gave the other bloke, the heave ho