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pericarditis

 
Medical Encyclopedia: Pericarditis
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Definition

Pericarditis is an inflammation of the two layers of the thin, sac-like membrane that surrounds the heart. This membrane is called the pericardium, so the term pericarditis means inflammation of the pericardium.

Description

Pericarditis is fairly common. It affects approximately one in 1,000 people. The most common form is caused by infection with a virus. People in their 20s and 30s who have had a recent upper respiratory infection are most likely to be affected, along with men aged 20–50. One out of every four people who have had pericarditis will get it again, but after two years these relapses are less likely.

— Christine Kuehn Kelly


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Dictionary: per·i·car·di·tis   (pĕr'ĭ-kär-dī'tĭs) pronunciation
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n.
Inflammation of the pericardium.


Dental Dictionary: pericarditis
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n

An inflammation of the pericardium associated with trauma, malignant neoplastic disease, infection, uremia, myocardial infarction, collagen disease, or idiopathic causes.

Sports Science and Medicine: pericarditis
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Inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart. It is usually caused by bacterial or virus infections, but it may also be linked with rheumatic fever. The pericardial cavity swells with fluid, constricting the heart. Symptoms include chest pains, anxiety, and fear. Physical activity should be avoided until the inflammation is completely resolved, and then activity should be resumed only with medical guidance. See also myocarditis.

Veterinary Dictionary: pericarditis
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Inflammation of the pericardium. Initially there is an audible friction rub on auscultation. Later as fluid accumulates there is a muffling of the heart sounds and sometimes a washing machine sound on auscultation. Congestive heart failure develops terminally. Classified according to exudate produced as fibrinous, fibrinohemorrhagic, hemorrhagic, purulent.

  • bread-and-butter p. — see bread and butter pericarditis.
  • constrictive p. — adhesions between the epicardium and pericardium limit the movement of the heart sometimes sufficiently to cause congestive heart failure.
  • niche p. — see niche pericarditis.
  • traumatic p. — occurs in cattle and goats, rarely sheep, when a sharp foreign body is swallowed and lodges in the reticulum, subsequently perforating its wall. The perforation may go as far forward as the pericardial sac, especially if the animal is pregnant. The animal dies of a combination of congestive heart failure and toxemia due to the bacterial infection.
Wikipedia: Pericarditis
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Pericarditis
Classification and external resources

An ECG showing pericarditis. Note the ST elevation in multiple leads with slight reciprocal ST depression in aVR.
ICD-10 I01.0, I09.2, I30.-I32.
ICD-9 420.90
DiseasesDB 9820
MedlinePlus 000182
eMedicine med/1781 emerg/412
MeSH D010493

Pericarditis is an inflammation (-itis) of the pericardium (the fibrous sac surrounding the heart).

Contents

Classification

Pericarditis can be classified according to the composition of the inflammatory exudate.[1]

Types include:

Pericardiocentesis can be performed to permit analysis of the pericardial fluid.

Acute vs. chronic

Acute pericarditis is more common than chronic pericarditis, and can occur as a complication of infections, immunologic conditions, or heart attack.

One form of chronic pericarditis is constrictive pericarditis.

  • Clinically: Acute (<6 weeks), Subacute (6 weeks to 6 months) and Chronic (>6 months)

Clinical presentation

Chest pain, radiating to the back and relieved by sitting up forward and worsened by lying down, is the classical presentation. Other symptoms of pericarditis may include dry cough, fever, fatigue, and anxiety. Pericarditis can be misdiagnosed as myocardial infarction (heart attack), and vice versa.

The classic sign of pericarditis is a friction rub. Other signs include diffuse ST-elevation and PR-depression on ECG in all leads except aVR and V1; cardiac tamponade (pulsus paradoxus with hypotension), and congestive heart failure (elevated jugular venous pressure with peripheral edema).

Since the mid-19th Century, retrospective diagnosis of pericarditis has been made upon the finding of adhesions of the pericardium.[2] When pericarditis is diagnosed clinically, the underlying cause is often never known; it may be discovered in only 16[3] to 22[4] percent of patients with acute pericarditis.

Causes

Infectious

Pericarditis may be caused by viral, bacterial, or fungal infection. The most common viral pathogen has traditionally been considered coxsackievirus based on studies in children from the 1960s, but recent data suggest adults are most commonly afflicted with cytomegalovirus, herpesvirus, and HIV.[5][6] Pneumococcus or tuberculous pericarditis are the most common bacterial forms. Fungal pericarditis is usually due to histoplasmosis, or in immunocompromised hosts Aspergillus, Candida, and Coccidioides.

Other

Pathophysiology

Complications

Most cases of acute idiopathic pericarditis resolve without complications or recurrence. Complications may include:

Treatment

The treatment in viral or idiopathic pericarditis is with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Severe cases may require:

References

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)
  1. ^ images
  2. ^ Austin Flint (1862). "Lectures on the diagnosis of diseases of the heart: Lecture VIII". American Medical Times: Being a weekly series of the New York Journal of Medicine 5 (July to December): 309–311. 
  3. ^ Permanyer-Miralda G; Sagrista-Sauleda J; Soler-Soler J (1 Oct 1985). "Primary acute pericardial disease: a prospective series of 231 consecutive patients". American Journal of Cardiology 56 (10): 623-30. PMID 4050698. 
  4. ^ Zayas R; Anguita M; Torres F; Gimenez D; Bergillos F; Ruiz M; Ciudad M; Gallardo A; Valles F (15 Feb 1995). "Incidence of specific etiology and role of methods for specific etiologic diagnosis of primary acute pericarditis". American Journal of Cardiology 75 (5): 378-82. PMID 7856532. 
  5. ^ AU Corey GR; Campbell PT; Van Trigt P; Kenney RT; O'Connor CM; Sheikh KH; Kisslo JA; Wall TC (Aug 1993). "Etiology of large pericardial effusions". American Journal of Medicine 95 (2): 209-13. PMID 8356985. 
  6. ^ Campbell PT; Li JS; Wall TC; O'Connor CM; Van Trigt P; Kenney RT; Melhus O; Corey GR (Apr 1995). "Cytomegalovirus pericarditis: a case series and review of the literature". American Journal of Medical Science 309 (4): 229-34. PMID 7900747. 

General References

External links

v • d • e
Cardiovascular disease: heart disease · Circulatory system pathology (I00-I52, 390-429)
Ischaemic
Active ischemia
Layers
Valves
Conduction/
arrhythmia
Premature contraction
Flutter/fibrillation
Other/ungrouped
Cardiomegaly
Other
heart navs: anat/physio/dev, noncongen/congen/neoplasia, symptoms+signs/eponymous, proc
v • d • e
Inflammation
Acute
Chronic
Processes
Specific types

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Medical Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pericarditis".  Read more