Acute Pericarditis
What is acute pericarditis?
"Peri" means all around, "cardiac" refers to your heart, and "itis" means inflammation. So, pericarditis is inflammation of the sac (pericardium) that surrounds your heart.
The pericardium is made of 2 thin layers. The space between the layers has some fluid that helps the layers slide easily over one another.
"Acute" means new or sudden. Acute pericarditis is sudden, painful inflammation of the pericardium. Usually, it causes fluid to build up between the layers of the pericardium.
-
Infection, heart attack, and other health problems, such as lupus and cancer, cause acute pericarditis
-
You may have a fever and sharp chest pain, but some people don't have any symptoms
-
To tell if you have acute pericarditis, doctors will do echocardiography
-
To treat it, doctors will give you medicine to lessen pain and swelling, and they may have you stay in the hospital
What causes acute pericarditis?
Causes of acute pericarditis include:
-
Infection, such as viruses, bacteria, AIDS, and tuberculosis
-
Heart surgery
-
Other health problems, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and rheumatic fever
-
Cancer, such as breast or lung cancer
-
Radiation therapy (a type of cancer treatment that uses high energy [radiation] to shrink cancer tumors and destroy cancer cells)
-
Certain medicines, such as blood thinners, antibiotics, and seizure medicine
What are the symptoms of acute pericarditis?
How can doctors tell if I have acute pericarditis?
To tell if you have acute pericarditis, doctors will do an exam to listen to your heart and do:
-
ECG/EKG—a test that measures your heart’s electrical activity
-
Echocardiography—an ultrasound of your heart
Doctors may do blood tests and take a sample of fluid or tissue from the pericardium to see what caused the pericarditis.
How do doctors treat acute pericarditis?
Drugs Mentioned In This Article
| Generic Name | Select Brand Names |
|---|---|
morphine |
DURAMORPH PF, MS CONTIN |
aspirin |
No US brand name |
