New symptoms after the 'Flu - breathless, BP now high and cholesterol

[ukxmrv]

My sister brought me a present from the southern hemisphere a few months ago - a bad dose of the flu.

Since then I have had new symptoms. Initially it was the usual sinus infection and the unusual ear infection. I've still got blocked ears and I though that my extra symptoms were due to that to start with. Now I'm not so sure. I do have pre-existing POTS (confirmed by a TTT) but these symptoms are different.

My GP took my BP and for the first time ever my resting BP was high - very high. HR was fine. He did some basic NHS blood tests and another first - my cholesterol was high as well now.

The BP is "sounding" in my ears (which could be the ear infection making it worse). I'm breathless though a lot of the time now and simple things like brushing my teeth sends my BP soaring and the breathlessness gets worse. I also wake in the night breathless and it takes time to get it back.

Initially I also thought that I might have asthma. Not sure - I've had an inhaler from my GP and it's not controlling this. I've been meditating and doing breathing exercises. It's helping a little but not much. Emotionally I feel as if any stress is a huge burden and I get angry if stressed over something. This feels different. The anger seems out of proportion.

Been assessing the drugs I am taking and stopped different things for the past weeks. Made no difference. In the last few months I have been taking a range of drugs. AB's, methylation supplements, antivirals drugs, celebrex (but I ran out so only a little), melatonin and other different things off and on),

The Flu was the trigger. A relative abroad ended up in hospital with cardiac symptoms.

If anyone has any ideas I'd be grateful. This is the UK so seeing a Cardiologist isn't quick or easy.

 

[Sherlock]

Hi, the short answer is that you should be wary of viral myocarditis. I believe that's what I had after the bad cold. I'll post more if you like.

 

[Sherlock]

It turns out that I had typed most of this up previously , edited/pasted below from
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?entries/history.711/

Male, 50s, always had been strong and healthy until a period of enormous stress and then came the "bad cold" in autumn 2008 - which included pronounced effects in my ears.

After the cold, I noticed orthostatic hypotension and then took my BP and discovered a sudden onset hypertension, mainly diastolic. It had been ~115/75 but was now ~140/95. For the first time, I could not bring my BP down by using exercise...

...

A few months later, while simply carrying a pot of water across the kitchen, my heart rate was 105. I was skipping a beat every 5 seconds (which was not a PVC or PAC but an actual skipped beat). Viral myocarditis is a definite possibility. I haven't had anything close to being that bad for a long time, and no skipped beats for months.

My shortness of breath was at its worst on days when I'd have to sit down once or twice while simply descending the dozen steps coming downstairs.

Worst BP was 160/115. Beta blockers nor other short term use of CCB+ACEI helped. TNG worked like a charm briefly, as usually did niacin...

Research from 2009: chance of Sudden Cardiac Death was 28%. For the fulminant variety (which I did not have), 5 year survival was ~ <50%, presumably from heart failure.

When fit athletes die on the field, the 2nd leading cause is VM. (1st is congenital deformation, like HOCUM.) In the U.S. these days, high school kids are not allowed back on a sports team after a bad cold until ~6 weeks after, plus might require an EKG. If they have had tachycardia, they most probably get evaluated for VM immediately.

Having learned all that, for weeks I would walk up the stairs to go to bed, wondering if in the morning I would wake up dead.

So, my blood vessels didn't work right at first, then after 2-3 months that had traveled to my heart. But @ukxmrv, you didn't mention tachycardia or irregular beating (from heart block or sick sinus syndrome). So maybe you only have vessel dysfunction at the moment, since your heart is beating strongly.

I also had a very bad asthma episode - never having had asthma before CFS.

 

[xrunner]

Hi @ukxmrv

A few weeks ago I got what initially seemed a light cold but which in a few days became bronchitis. My mum got it too and ended up in A&E. There we spoke to a patient who had just diagnosed with pneumonia although he didn't have a fever or cough.
Eventually I also went to A&E as well because of tachicardia which is unusual for me, not sure if it was due to the chest infection or the side effects of chlaritromicin but they didn't find anything (of course I didn't mention ME or chronic Lyme to ensure they assessed me objectively) .

It took me a course of abx and a couple of weeks to recover. My mum was sick for a month and been well only the last few days. One of my best friend was on abx and last time I spoke to him still hadn't recovered fully, being a normally healthy person otherwise. Another friend had been unwell for several weeks with a sore throat that wouldn't go away.

It seems the flu this year brought a few nasty surprises. If you can't get answers, I'd go to A&E for an xray and also ECG and relevant blood tests to rule out chest infections and any heart problem.

Best wishes

 

[halcyon]

Almost sounds like it could be an enterovirus (another I guess? I believe you've said you tested positive for VP1 test in the past). I've had a lot of the same symptoms that you're describing including the sinus issues, shortness of breath, hypertension, and high cholesterol and I'm almost 100% sure they were caused by enterovirus in my case.

I don't believe cardio symptoms are common with influenza, but they definitely are common with enteroviruses.

 

[ukxmrv]

Thank you very much for the very helpful replies.

I saw my NHS GP and he confirmed my BP was still high. Then arranged a ECG and some blood tests to be done.

While waiting for that I took my BP and HR readings for a couple of days. The BP was higher on exertion and the HR was unstable and unpredictable. It ranged from a normal HR but high BP and a very high HR with high BP. I tested my BP/HR monitor on my partner to check it was working correctly.

The breathlessness was still there on exertion and occurred at rest when I was lying down.

I'm feeling a little better today with less breathlessness problems lying down and I feel like I can now fill my lungs with air. The feeling of pressure on my chest is lifted.

Just come back from the ECG and that was normal (the nurse said) but my BP is still high. I'll get the results from the blood tests next week.

Thank you for your support. I've got some ideas of what to look at now.

 

[melamine]

Almost sounds like it could be an enterovirus (another I guess? I believe you've said you tested positive for VP1 test in the past). I've had a lot of the same symptoms that you're describing including the sinus issues, shortness of breath, hypertension, and high cholesterol and I'm almost 100% sure they were caused by enterovirus in my case.

I don't believe cardio symptoms are common with influenza, but they definitely are common with enteroviruses.

@ukxmrv - Your symptoms sound a lot like something I had about 8 years ago. I was not allowed referral to a cardiologist at the time of the worst symptoms, which lasted for months, but when I went to ER about a month or more into it, everything tested normal and I was misdiagnosed with "anxiety." Treatment was "reassurance" I assume any elevation of my BP that might have been present would have been attributed to "anxiety."

Minor valve damage and pulmonary hypertension showed up and was ignored when I was eventually able to get tested 4-5 months out. A sonogram later showed some pleural thickening and pericardial effusion.

A year later I still had heart and upper respiratory symptoms and my ENT, who had been treating me at the time of the acute symptoms, looked in my throat and said it looked like possibly enterovirus. I tested high for all coxsacki Bs a couple years later.

 

[Sherlock]

Congratulations on the good test. That can set your mind somewhat at ease.

Your SOB might result from the lungs or from reduced stroke volume (which can't AFAIR be measured by EKG) or from both.