By Michaela Gordoni
Country star and heart health advocate Carly Pearce believes it’s important to take charge of your health, even if it means being persistent after doctors leave you feeling “dismissed.”
“I’m doing a lot better…I’m still kind of just on a health journey in general, just to continue to hope that this recurrent pericarditis isn’t recurrent,” the “I Hope You’re Happy” singer told Fox News at Trisha Yearwood’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star event Monday.
Pericarditis is a heart disease that causes inflammation and infection in the fluid-filled sac that surrounds the cardium. The 34-year-old singer found out she had the disease five years ago.
“Pericarditis is relatively rare,” Li Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Women’s Heart Program, told Norton Healthcare online. “For the most part it is short term, meaning if treated properly, it goes away; however, in some cases, it can become recurring, which impacts about 28 people out of every 100,000.”
Pearce shared, “But I think my biggest piece of advice for anybody is listen to be your body and be your own advocate because a lot of times a lot of doctors dismissed me, and I was persistent until I got a diagnosis.”
Related: Country Singer Carly Pearce Says God’s Grace Comforted Her at Her Lowest Point
Carly Pearce recalled her first experience with the disease on the TODAY show in January.
“I had a really debilitating chest pain that was only relieved if I bent over like this (leaning forward), and that’s a classic symptom of pericarditis,” she said. “And then when you lay back, it gets way worse, because that wall is kind of inflamed around your heart.”
“I just had a really intense shortness of breath, like almost having to suck through, like, a straw,” she added.
Other symptoms of pericarditis can include fever, stabbing chest pain, coughing, weakness and breathing issues. Some experience pericarditis for one to three weeks, but Pearce’s condition is chronic.
“I’m doing better. I’m healthy, I’m trying to find my new normal…I’ve had several flares since 2020. It’s something that for me as a woman, somebody who’s young, who’s an avid runner that takes care of themselves, I really do want to raise awareness that you are your biggest advocate,” she shared.
Pearce wants others to know that if they have doubts about what their body is telling them after seeing a physician, they should keep trying to figure out if something’s not right. She knows firsthand that doctors are just as human as anyone else — they make mistakes, too.
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