Medical Questions » Heart Questions » Question No. 494
| Question: | My daughter aged 42 is suffering from pericarditis which she has had for ten months. She is getting injections of cortisone. 1 am very worried about her, and I' m afraid for her. Can you please tell me what can be done for this disease? |
| Answer: | The heart is contained in a thin sack made from fibrous tissue. This sack acts to support and protect the heart, but if it becomes inflamed or infected, the patient is suffering from pericarditis.
There are three main types of pericarditis—a bacterial infection, a viral infection, and a non-specific inflammation that may be related to heart attacks and a number of other rare diseases including tuberculosis, cancer, lupus erythematosus and kidney failure. Pericarditis may be a rapidly developing infection like tonsillitis, or a very slowly developing one that takes many months or years to cause problems. Your daughter seems to have the latter form.
The most serious complication of the disease is called constrictive pericarditis, in which the fibrous pericardial sack starts to shrink due to the infection or inflammation, and squeezes the heart so that it cannot beat effectively. This constriction can sometimes be relieved by surgery. Fluid may also accumulate between the pericardial sack and the heart to cause problems.
Cortisone injections are used to reduce the inflammation of the pericardium, and prevent the complications of the disease. The treatment and outcome depend upon the cause of the pericarditis and its severity, and from the information you have given me it is impossible to come to a more detailed conclusion.
In all cases, where a relative is concerned about a patient, it is best, with the patient' s permission, to talk to the doctors looking after the case, who will be able to give more accurate infotmation.
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