May 25, 2012
Topics A-Z Heart Disease What causes pericarditis?
What causes pericarditis? |
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Dear Ask The Doctor: Is pericarditis a form of or associated with ishemic heart disease.? Dear Antonio: The pericardium is a sac of fibrous tissue that surrounds the heart. The pericardium's outer coat (parietal) is tough and thickened, loosely cloaks the heart, and is attached to the central part of the diaphragm and the back of the breastbone. Its inner coat (visceral) is double, with one layer closely adherent to the heart and the other lining the inner surface of the outer coat. The space between these layers is filled with pericardial fluid. This small amount of fluid acts as a lubricant to allow normal heart movement within the chest. Pericarditis is inflammation of these membranes surrounding the heart. It may be accompanied by accumulation of excess fluid in the pericardial sac, known as a pericardial effusion. Pericarditis may occur acutely after a heart attack, as a late complication of a heart attack as part of Dressler’s syndrome, or post cardiac surgery. Alternatively it may present secondary to inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) or due to a dissecting aortic aneurysm. Other causes of pericarditis include: viral infection, including HIV; tuberculosis; sharp or blunt chest trauma; cardiac diagnostic or interventional procedure; drugs and toxins; metabolic disorders e.g. hypothyroidism; malignant disease, especially lung and breast cancer, Hodgkin's disease, mesothelioma; radiation; collagen vascular diseases; and occasionally the cause is unknown. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 06 August 2010 ) |
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