How to sleep with pericarditis?
If you have been looking for this question for many days on the internet, this article can provide you the answer. Pericarditis can affect anyone.
Patients who are suffering from pericarditis always feel discomfort while they are sleeping. Most patients have shared that they have trouble breathing when sleeping on the left side.
You can get relief from this condition if you change the sleeping position – leaning forward or sitting up. It helps the heart to pump blood normally. But it is not the exact way to get rid of this heart condition.
In medical science, they follow some diagnosis processes to treat patients accurately. So keep on reading this article until the end of the point to learn the types of pericarditis, symptoms, diagnosis and more.
What Is Pericarditis?
Pericarditis is a swollen pericardium, a two-layered, thin, fluid-filled sac that covers the outer portion of your heart. Pericarditis develops abruptly, and it can last from weeks up to several months.
The condition of your heart may clear up after three months, but sometimes it can last for years. Sometimes, it has been seen that extra fluid in the space between the pericardial layers is called pericardial effusion.
How To Sleep With Pericarditis?
How to sleep with pericarditis?- this is a very common question. Well, let me answer this, you should sleep on the right side because it can help to relax your heart. It can reduce high blood pressure, which helps you to keep your heartbeat calm.
But But But!
This assumption is not clinically approved. Furthermore, no evidence can prove that right-side sleep is better than left-side sleep. So it is better to take suggestions from a cardiologist.
What Are Symptoms?
Pericarditis symptoms with heartburn and chest pain:
- Feels stabbing and sharp. It happens when the heart rubs against the pericardium.
- You may feel worse when you get a cold, cough, swallow or take a deep breath.
- Pain your neck, back or left shoulder.
- A dry cough
- Trouble breathing when you lie flat on your bed
- Palpitations, feelings like your heart is running or beating fast unnecessary
- Fever
- Anxiety
- Sweating
If you feel short breath every time, you may suffer from constrictive pericarditis symptoms. When pericardium gets thick or hard, you may face trouble breathing. When it happens, your heart muscles can not expand, which keeps your heart from working as it should. Your heart becomes compressed, and blood can back up into the abdomen and lungs, leading to swelling. It is the cause of congestive heart failure.
Types Of Pericarditis
There are different types of Pericarditis which can happen due to many causes. Let’s have a look at the types of Pericarditis.
- Chronic Pericarditis
Inflammation of the pericardium lasts a minimum of three months or longer after the acute attack.
- Acute Pericarditis
Inflammation of pericardium develops abruptly with the sudden
The onset of symptoms.
- Infectious Pericarditis
If it develops, then you may feel bacterial – viral fever, parasitic or fungal infection.
- Constrictive Pericarditis
This type of pericardium can stiffen the pericardium
Inflamed layers develop scar tissue and make them thick and stick together. Constrictive Pericarditis interferes with the normal function of the heart. Generally, it happens when multiple acute Pericarditis is over.
- Idiopathic Pericarditis
Still, now, the cause of Idiopathic Pericarditis can not be discovered.
- Traumatic pericarditis
If your chest suffered a serious injury, for example, a car accident. It can develop Traumatic Pericarditis.
- Malignant pericarditis
It can develop cancer cells in your body.
- Uremic pericarditis
It has the chance of kidney failure.
Which age Group can be affected By Pericarditis?
Pericarditis can affect anyone, but the probability in men who are between 16 years old to 65 years old. And the study has shown that in a year, approximately 28 people have been affected out of 100,000.
What is the Cause Of Pericarditis?
90% of the cause of pericarditis is unknown. It is called idiopathic pericarditis. There are many causes of pericarditis. Look below👇
- Viral infection is a gastrointestinal virus that causes viral pericarditis.
- Bacterial infection, for example, tuberculosis, causes bacterial pericarditis.
- Fungal infection is the reason for fungal pericarditis.
- Infection from a parasite causes parasitic pericarditis.
- Traumatic pericarditis is the cause of injury to the chest, for example, in car accidents.
- Kidney failure is the cause of uremic pericarditis.
- Malignant pericarditis is the cause of tumors like lymphoma.
The reason which can increase the risk of pericarditis:
- A heart attack
- Radiation therapy
- Open heart surgery
- Percutaneous treatment such as radiofrequency ablation or cardiac catheterization.
What is The Best Sleeping Position for Pericarditis?
How to sleep with pericarditis? The answer is the right side. However, this is not proven clinically. It depends on the patients. Most people share their condition and said they face troubles when they sleep on the left side. So, in this case, the right side can help you to get relief from this situation
How To Diagnosis?
Sharp pain in your back and chest and you feel breathing trouble are two primary causes of pericarditis. However, you may have understood that it is not a heart attack but pericarditis.
Now is the time you should visit a cardiologist. Your doctor will discuss the symptoms and your family’s medical history. What you feel is shared with your doctors; they give you suggestions for diagnosing the heart condition.
What Test will You Do To Diagnose Pericarditis?
Now medical science has prevented various ways to diagnose properly because there are many types of pericarditis. So it is important to identify which pericarditis you have.
- Chest X-ray
It is the primary diagnosis process to see any fluid in your heart and the size of the heart.
- ECG (Electrocardiogram)
The most common diagnosis process is to see your heart rhythm. Most pericarditis patients have the characteristic changes to a normal heart rhythm. On the other hand, some people don’t change their heart rhythm.
- ECHO (Echocardiogram)
This test is conducted to see how well the heart is and check the fluid around the heart.ECHO will show the classic sign of constrictive pericarditis.
- Cardigan MRI
This test explores extra fluid, compression, pericardial inflammation and thickening.
- CT Scan
It checks calcium levels in the pericardium, inflammation, fluid, tumors and more.
- Blood tests
A blood test is a common test for every diagnosis. In this case, blood tests can present how well your heart is, have any problems with heart rhythm, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Here is some more information regarding pericarditis; you can look out at once if you want to get more.
If you feel uncomfortable while sleeping on the left side then you can turn on the right side. Most helpful position is leaning forward or sitting up.
There are many positions that can give you a bad feeling. Most common position is when lying down, coughing, breathing or taking a deep breath.
Pericarditis is a type of heart disease. Your doctor may suggest a low salt diet to control blood pressure which is the cause of sweating and unnecessary heart rhythm.
Yes, it is important to rest your body. Plus, you should follow a healthy lifestyle with enough sleep. Don’t take stress and heavy weight.
Bottom Line: Visit Your Doctor
How to sleep with Pericarditis? Hopefully, you get the answer. If you understand that you are suffering from Pericarditis, you should immediately visit a cardio specialist.
Don’t take any medicine or implement any food item without taking suggestions from a doctor. I hope this article has been able to meet your requirements. If you have any questions, you can ask by commenting below.
I will be there to connect with you; till then, stay happy and healthy. ❤️
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