What are the dangers of pericarditis?

There is no doubt that pericarditis is a disease that occurs in the human heart. It is generally believed that the main factor causing pericarditis is infection by various microorganisms. It is generally believed that diseases such as pericarditis are more common in people with heart failure, which may also be related to physical constitution. What are the dangers of a disease like pericarditis?

1. Pericarditis caused by ventricular free wall rupture

It is the most serious complication of myocardial infarction, and 50% of its occurrence often causes acute cardiac tamponade. Patients may suddenly fall into coma, convulse, and have cardiac and respiratory arrest. Rescue efforts are difficult to succeed in most cases and the prognosis is extremely poor. It accounts for 5% to 10% of deaths from myocardial infarction. Most patients are elderly people with a history of long-term hypertension. Myocardial infarction is transmural and lacks collateral circulation. The use of steroid hormones, inappropriate use of inotropic drugs, uncontrolled hypertension, premature physical labor and the use of anticoagulants are all possible triggers. In a few patients, the rupture is very small, forming a pseudoventricular aneurysm. If such patients undergo surgery early, the survival rate can reach 48.5%. If the surgery is delayed, the pseudoventricular aneurysm may further expand and rupture, and blood may enter the pericardial cavity, causing cardiac tamponade and death.

2. Dressler syndrome

It usually occurs one week to half a month after myocardial infarction, with an incidence rate of 1% to 3%. Its pathogenesis is related to autoimmunity and viral infection, and is more likely to occur in people with early pericarditis after myocardial infarction. Dressler syndrome may rarely cause large pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade, and constrictive pericarditis; some patients may experience repeated attacks several times.

3. Early onset pericarditis

Thrombolytic therapy reduced the incidence of pericarditis from 12% to 6.7%. The earlier the treatment was started, the lower the incidence of pericarditis. There is no significant difference in the incidence of dry pericarditis in myocardial infarction at different locations, but pericardial effusion mostly occurs in anterior wall myocardial infarction. The presence of pericardial effusion also indicates a larger infarction area.

The harm caused by pericarditis is very serious. The damage to the heart is also irreversible, so active treatment of pericarditis is very important. In clinical practice, it is generally recommended that people with diseases such as pericarditis should achieve early detection and early treatment. This can appropriately reduce the damage caused by pericarditis to other organs of the body.