Acute Pericarditis

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 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

Pericardial Sac

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Causes of acute pericarditis include:

• Infection, such as viruses, bacteria, AIDS, and tuberculosis 

• Heart attack

• Heart surgery

• Kidney failure

• Chest injury

• 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 antiseizure medicine

Symptoms of acute pericarditis include:

• Fever

• Sharp chest pain

The pain may go down your left shoulder and arm and get worse when laying down, swallowing food, coughing, or breathing deeply.

To tell if you have acute pericarditis, doctors will do an exam to listen to your heart and do:

• ECG/EKG (electrocardiogram)—a test that measures your heart’s electrical activity

• Chest x-ray

• 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.

Doctors treat the cause of acute pericarditis. They also give you medicine to lessen your pain and swelling, such as:

• A corticosteroid to lessen swelling

If medicine isn’t helping or a lot of fluid has built up, doctors may:

• Have you stay in the hospital to monitor your progress

• Remove fluid from your pericardium using a needle and small catheter (pericardiocentesis)

• Do surgery to drain the fluid from your pericardium