The cardiovascular diseases

THE ACUTE PERICARDITIS

- Definition
- The Symptoms
- How to make the diagnosis?
- Diagnosis of assess gravity
- The Causes
- Evolution
- Treatment
- Conclusion

THE SYMPTOMS

1 - Typical symptoms

Symptoms very often occur in an infection context.

Pain is the major symptom of the pericarditis. With a variable seat and intensity, its length is often prolonged, from several hours to several days. It increases upon inspiration, to the cough and in stretched out position on the back, and decreases in the leaned forward seated position, upon expiration.

Shortening of breath corresponds in fact to a fast and superficial breathing. It is the consequence of the pain upon inspiration or the abundance of the effusion. It is also improved by the leaned forward seated position.

Other symptoms can also occur as hiccup, vomiting, huskiness of the voice, or a dry cough.

Fever is constant and can precede the other symptoms.

2 - Atypical symptoms

The real frequency of pericarditises is probably underestimated: many shapes of pericarditises do not come with symptoms and are spontaneously regressive.

3 - By a complication

Sometimes, pericarditis is responsible for a very voluminous effusion around the heart, which prevents its normal contraction.

This mechanism is responsible for the occurrence of a very important shortening of breath and the BP decrease. Physicians call this illness a cardiac tamponade; it constitutes a grave medical diagnosis.

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File last reviewed on dec 18, 2011