what disease causes pericarditis?

Answer 1

What causes pericarditis?
Pericarditis can be caused by infection, heart attack, autoimmune disorders, chest trauma, cancer, kidney failure, or drugs.
Infections that can cause pericarditis include viral infections, bacterial infections, tuberculosis, and fungal infections. Patients with AIDS frequently develop infections that produce pericarditis.

Autoimmune disorders that can cause pericarditis include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma.

Pericarditis occurs in up to 15% of patients who have acute myocardial infarctions (heart attacks). There is also a late form of post-heart-attack pericarditis, called Dressler’s syndrome, that occurs weeks to months after the heart attack.

Some of the drugs that can produce pericarditis include procainamide, hydralazine, phenytoin, and isoniazid.

Many forms of cancer can metastasize (spread) to the pericardial sac, and produce pericarditis.

In many cases, no definite cause for pericarditis can be identified - this is called “idiopathic" pericarditis.”

What symptoms are associated with pericarditis?
The most common symptom caused by pericarditis is chest pain. The pain can severe, and is often made worse by changing position or with deep breathing. Patients can also have shortness of breath, or fever.
Pericarditis can produce complications, namely tamponade, chronic pericarditis, and constriction. These complications - which are discussed below – can produce reduced cardiac pumping, lung congestion, and organ failure.

How is pericarditis diagnosed?
Doctors can usually diagnose pericarditis by taking a careful medical history, performing a physical examination, and doing an ECG (which shows characteristic changes.) Sometimes an echocardiogram can be helpful in making the diagnosis.

Answer 2

usually from heart (cardiac) issues.