What Is Pericarditis?
1. What Are the Causes of Pericarditis?
Pericarditis can have many origins, and as the condition presents uniquely in different patients, it is difficult to profess one root cause. However, most cases stem from an infection or a virus. When a cause is unknown, doctors may present a diagnosis of idiopathic pericarditis.
Heart surgery may also result in the condition. Researchers believe the agitation to the heart muscles during surgery leads to the inflammation of the pericardium. When surgery or other cardiac event is the underlying cause, Dressler’s syndrome, an autoimmune condition, may be the cause. Researchers suggest dead heart tissue in the blood system could trigger the immune reaction against the pericardium.
