wespinosa

I was recently diagnosed with a relatively mild case of Pericarditis. While I like my Cardiologist I do not get the idea he has had a whole lot of experience with this particular disease and was hoping to get some other input regarding the treatment.

After being diagnosed this time I realized I had almost certainly had another flare up of Pericarditis about 18 months ago and just not been diagnosed. The first flare up(18 months ago) involved chest pain and a mild fever that came and went off and on over the course of about a month. The second and most recent episode started about a month ago with the exact same symptoms. It lasted for about a week before I went to the doctor/hospital and was diagnosed. By the time I saw the cardiologist(about 24 hours after my first doctor visit) my symptoms had gotten much better but he put me on ibuprofen 600mg 4 times a day anyway. My symptoms were completely gone in 48 hours and have for the most part not come back sense. I saw my cardiologist again today and he recommended I stay on the ibuprofen for several more months, slowly reducing the dosage over the course of this time. He said this would help reduce the chances that I would ever have another episode.

I have heard of Colchicine reducing the likely hood of reoccurrences but does this hold true for a milder drug like Ibuprofen? Also, I suspect my most recent and past occurrences of pericarditis were the result of a virus. That being said, will taking noninflammatory drugs for an extended period of time help to prevent future occurrences of pericarditis caused by a virus?

Thanks for any help anyone may be able to provide.