Wayne Parnell's heart condition: Is he suffering from pericarditis or myocarditis?

South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell, left the field yesterday after bowling two overs during the match between India A and South Africa A complaining of shortness of breath and irregular heartbeats while bowling and his condition is expected to be known in a few days. According to insiders, he spent an entire day on a heart monitor and was in the hospital for 48 hours and underwent multiple medical tests.

South Africa manager and medical expert Dr Mohammed Moosajee told Cricinfo: 'Wayne had some discomfort in the chest and he was found to have had an irregular heartbeat. At the moment, the tests have found that he has settled down and now it's just about discovering what's wrong.' Parnell either suffers from either pericarditis or myocarditis, said Dr Moosajee and neither of the two conditions should rule him out of the game in the long term. Both are a result of a viral infection and are inflammations of the heart area. Depending on which ailment Depending on which ailment it is, Parnell will be out for between two and six weeks, with the latter option proving a setback ahead of the tour to the UAE to face Pakistan in October.

What is pericarditis?

Often indicated by sharp chest pain and other symptoms like breathlessness, pericarditis is basically irritation and swelling of the outer covering of the heart. What this may be caused due to is not very definitive but viral infections are seen to be associated with it. It also occurs in people who've suffered from a heart attack or had a heart surgery. Injury to the chest in cases of trauma can also cause it. It is also seen in some cases of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus (an auto-immune disease where the immune system starts attacking the body's cells). Treatment mainly consists of pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs. If there is a bacterial infection, antibiotics may be given. If the pericarditis has progressed to further complications, hospitalisation may be necessary.

What is Myocarditis?

Though mostly caused by a viral infection too, Myocarditis is an inflammation of the middle layer of the heart or the myocardium. It is characterized by chest pain, abnormal heart beats ultimately leading to heart failure, if untreated.

Apart from the medicines given in the case of pericarditis, this condition may require drugs to regularise the heartbeat.

While Parnell may take 2-3 weeks to recover from pericarditis, it may take around 6 weeks for myocarditis.