10 Pericarditis Symptoms
1. Chest Pain
In pericarditis, the chest pain is often felt on the left side in the area where the heart is located. The pain can be described as a sharp pain, especially when breathing. It may radiate to the lowest portion of the scapula on the back. This pain worsens when lying down or breathing (inspiration) and is relieved with sitting up or bending forward. This pain is often sudden and can last for hours to days before the patient decides to seek medical attention. Due to its similarity to a heart attack, it can be misdiagnosed. However, the characteristic of the pain in a heart attack differs as the pain is a crushing and heavy pain that may radiate to the left arm or jaw. One crucial difference is that physical exertion increases the pain in a heart attack (but not in pericarditis). The pain in a heart attack does not change with different positions (unlike pericarditis).
