MILWAUKEE (AP) — Having already been through one significant scare, Milwaukee pitcher Doug Davis was rightly concerned when he woke up early Saturday morning and felt as if he might be having a heart attack.
Fortunately for Davis, doctors instead diagnosed him with pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart.
It appears to be a fairly mild case, and Davis — who missed part of the 2008 season while he was being treated for thyroid cancer — hopes to be back within two weeks. But he isn't going to take any chances.
"Doctors informed me that if you do rush it back and you're not completely done with it that it could cause heart problems for the rest of your life and it could cost (me) my career," Davis said Sunday. "I don't really want to mess around with that."
Jim Kleczka, a doctor at Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, said Davis is being treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. Although the condition can be serious, Davis' case doesn't appear to be.
"There are different degrees of it," Kleczka said. "Fortunately, this thus far appears to be a mild case. We've done testing, his heart looked great. He's in great shape here. So we don't see any other signs that this would be something bad."
Kleczka said the condition is not related to Davis' past bout with cancer.
Davis and Kleczka met briefly with the media at Miller Park on Sunday, after Davis was scratched from his scheduled start against Philadelphia and placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Davis said he woke up in pain just after 4 a.m. Saturday sweating and feeling sharp pain in his chest, jaw, neck and back.
"I Googled what was going on, and it said signs of a heart attack," Davis said.
Davis went to the hospital around 7 a.m. and was released early Saturday afternoon. He will not travel with the team on its upcoming road trip and he won't be able to work out extensively while he's being treated.
Right-hander Dave Bush took Davis' place in the rotation Sunday night against the Phillies, and outfielder Adam Stern was recalled from the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. Stern was in uniform for Sunday night's game.
Brewers manager Ken Macha said he could fill Davis' spot in the rotation with a pitcher from the bullpen or the minor leagues, depending on how much he has to use his already-taxed relief staff in the next two games.
Davis, who is 1-4 with a 7.56 ERA, said he has had bad luck all season — but acknowledged that things could be much worse.
"I'm still walking, talking and able to at least be here for the home game and root my teammates on," Davis said.
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