Pericarditis Health Video

Pericarditis is an inflammation of the sac around the heart, and is related to illness and diseases like lupus. Learn more about the causes, symptoms and treatments of pericarditis in this health video.

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Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Prednisone can be used
Consult a doctor for chest pain

About this Author

Dr. Dave Weiland has been practicing cardiology in the Bay Area for 21 years. On top of operating a practice in San Pablo, CA for the past 15 years, Dr. Weiland works with eight other doctors in traveling all around the Bay Area to treat patients everywhere. Dr. Weiland graduated from the Ohio State Medical School in 1981; following that with an additional six years of study at Tufts University. Dr. Weiland received his training in cardiology at the New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and now teaches medical students about cardiology.

DAVE WEILAND: Hi. I'm Dr. David Weiland. We're going to talk about pericarditis. Pericarditis is a disease that causes severe chest pain, but it involves the sac around the heart, the pericardium. If the pericardium gets inflamed, it can cause an intense pain. It's a pain that has symptoms of being severe but with deep breathing, with coughing, and with body movement. Often it's relieved by sitting up. It's different from a heart attack pain in that it is exacerbated by movement of the heart within the chest cavity. The treatment of pericarditis usually involves use of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The drugs that we prefer to use are ibuprofen, which can be bought over the counter, or naproxen, Naprosyn which can also be bought over the counter. Sometimes if symptoms are severe, indomethacin can be used, which I believe is still a prescription drug. Prednisone is often used as well if a patient cannot take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause upset of the stomach or ulcer disease, and oftentimes, for this reason, prednisone will have to be used. Prevention of pericarditis: There is no prevention of pericarditis. If it happens, it happens. Well, we see pericarditis develop oftentimes in relationship to a viral illness, oftentimes in relationship to a heart attack. It can often be very similar to a pleuritic or pleurisy-type pain which is the similar type of pain involving the lining of the lung. If you have this sort of pain where you're having pain with deep breath often associated with the viral illness, it's always best to seek out medical attention. Oftentimes, an echocardiogram will be very helpful in making a diagnosis of pericarditis, and if it progresses to more serious forms where there is a pericardial effusion or fluid in the pericardium, the services of a physician or a cardiologist would be very helpful.