General description of the disease
It is inflammation of the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the organ, holds it in place and helps it function). This inflammatory process can be a consequence or symptom of other diseases (fungal, bacterial, infectious, viral, rheumatic). Or be a complication of injuries, pathologies of internal organs. The most common symptom of pericarditis is chest pain caused by inflammation and possibly rubbing of the heart. If you feel such pain, we recommend that you immediately contact a doctor for advice.
Pericarditis may have acute form – suddenly appear and disappear quickly enough with proper treatment, go chronic – slowly developing over a long period of time, and taking much more time for treatment. Both types disrupt the normal rhythm, the functionality of the heart. Sometimes, although this happens very rarely, it is fatal[1].
Causes of pericarditis
There are many causes of pericarditis, but most often it manifests itself as a complication of a viral infection (viral pericarditis) – usually after a previous gastrointestinal virus, rarely influenza or AIDS. This disease can also be triggered by a bacterial, fungal or parasitic infection.
Certain autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma, in which the immune system attacks healthy tissues, can also cause pericarditis.
Among the common causes of pericarditis are chest injuries, for example, after a car accident (traumatic pericarditis). Or other health problems such as kidney failure (uremic pericarditis), tumors, genetic diseases. In rare cases, medications that suppress the immune system become a provocateur of the disease.
The risk of developing pericarditis is higher after a heart attack or after heart surgery (Dressler syndrome) because damaged heart muscles can irritate the pericardium. Also after radiation therapy or treatments such as cardiac catheterization or radiofrequency ablation. In these cases, many experts believe that pericarditis is the result of the body mistakenly producing an inflammatory response to the pericardium. After bypass surgery, symptoms of pericarditis may be absent for up to several weeks after the procedure.
Often it is impossible to establish the cause of the development of pericarditis, and in this case it is called “idiopathic pericarditis».
It often relapses after the first episode, and attacks can recur over the years[2].
Pericarditis symptoms
The most common symptom of pericarditis, as mentioned above, is chest pain. It can also be accompanied by the following signs:
- this pain, as a rule, is sharp, dull, it is very strong;
- May get worse by coughing, swallowing, breathing deeply, or lying down;
- may calm down while sitting or leaning forward;
- pain can be felt in the back, neck, in the area of the left shoulder.
Other signs and symptoms of the disease include:
- difficulty breathing while lying down;
- dry cough;
- feeling anxious and tired;
- in some cases, pericarditis causes swelling of the legs and ankles in a sick person. As a rule, this is a sign of a serious type of disease – constrictive pericarditis[2]… You can learn more about it later in the article.
Types of pericarditis
- 1 Acute pericarditis – when symptoms have been present for less than 3 months. If you consult a doctor in a timely manner and immediately begin treatment, then acute pericarditis can be dealt with quickly enough.[3]… The acute form, in turn, is also divided into several types. Let’s talk about each of them briefly. Dry pericarditis (in this case, the liquid is present in small quantities, this type develops as a consequence of increased filling with blood of the serous membrane of the heart with further sweating of fibrin into the pericardial cavity). Pericardial effusion or effusion – this is another type of dry. In this case, a liquid or semi-liquid exudate is secreted and accumulated in the cavity between the pericardial layers. The effusion liquid can have a different character. For example, to be serous-fibrous (a mixture of liquid and plastic substances, appears in small quantities and can dissolve quickly enough), hemorrhagic (bloody exudate) or purulent.
- 2 Recurrent pericarditis – the case when the symptoms of acute pericarditis with some frequency appear in the patient.
- 3 Chronic pericarditis – a complicated form of the disease, when the symptoms last longer than three months. It also washes in an effusion or exudative form. Sometimes it is adhesive or adhesive (when, after the transition of the inflammation process from the exudative stage to the productive stage, scar tissue begins to form in the pericardium, its sheets stick together with each other or with neighboring tissues – the sternum, pleura, diaphragm)[3].
Complications of pericarditis
- Constrictive pericarditis Is a severe form of chronic pericarditis. In this case, rough scar tissue forms around the heart, which entails a decrease in the size of the pericardium. It compresses the heart, prevents it from expanding normally, and prevents the ventricles from filling properly during diastole. As a result, the heart chambers are not filled with blood. This can cause symptoms of heart failure, including shortness of breath, swelling of the legs, water retention, and abnormal heart rhythms. With proper treatment, these negative symptoms can be eliminated.[2].
- When excess fluid builds up in the space between the layers of the pericardium, it leads to a condition known as pericardial effusion… The intense buildup of fluid in the pericardium causes cardiac tamponade (heavy compression of the heart that prevents it from functioning properly). Cardiac tamponade resulting from pericardial effusion can be life threatening and is a medical emergency requiring removal of fluid by pericardial puncture[2].
Pericarditis prophylaxis
As a rule, a person cannot take any measures in order to prevent the development of acute pericarditis. But we can influence the diseases that can lead to such an unpleasant complication. It is important at the first signs of a viral, infectious, fungal, autoimmune disease to consult a doctor so that he has time to prescribe treatment in a timely manner. You do not need to start the disease if you find alarming symptoms, and thereby provoke the emergence of new and more severe complications. It is also important to regularly undergo preventive examinations and monitor your health.[5].
Pericarditis treatment in mainstream medicine
The most common cause of pericarditis is a viral infection. Therefore, drug treatment is aimed at reducing inflammation and controlling pain. For this purpose, anti-inflammatory drugs (non-steroidal) are usually used. A short course of pain relievers may be prescribed.
For other types of pericarditis, treatment is prescribed that helps to eliminate the underlying cause that triggered its development.
With the cardiac tamponade mentioned above, doctors prescribe pericardiocentesis – a procedure in which a thin needle is inserted through the chest wall into the pericardial sac to remove excess fluid.
With purulent pericarditis, a procedure may be prescribed pericardotomy (opening of the pericardial cavity). And for the treatment of chronic constrictive and chronic exudative pericarditis, an operation called pericardectomy can sometimes be prescribed … It involves the complete surgical removal of the pericardium. [4].
Useful foods for pericarditis
In acute pericarditis, it is important to adhere to the correct diet, which will help reduce the load on the heart, improve blood circulation, the general condition of the cardiovascular system, and also bring all the necessary nutrients and vitamins into the body.
Allowed to eat:
- Meat products: lean beef, pork, veal, rabbit, turkey. It is desirable that the products are boiled. It is also allowed to eat them baked.
- Greens such as parsley, spinach, lettuce. They are rich in vitamins. Raw or boiled vegetables are helpful. But it is recommended to limit the intake of potatoes, white cabbage and peas.
- Soups – It is recommended to eat more often vegetarian variations of soups. For example, vegetable or dairy, beetroot. You can also include meat or fish broths in the diet, but it is better to do this infrequently.
- Rosehip decoction. It contains a very large amount of vitamin C. It is not only useful for the immune system, but also improves the tone of the heart walls, blood vessels, and prevents the formation of blood clots.
- Pumpkin, carrots and other orange-colored vegetable products. They are useful for pericarditis because they contain vitamin A. In turn, it helps to improve the condition of the heart muscles and takes part in the normalization of cholesterol levels in the body.
- Porridge, cereals, a variety of cereal-based puddings, eggs, dairy products. They contain vitamin B. It prevents arrhythmias, heart attacks, and in general is very good for the heart.
Traditional medicine for pericarditis
- An effective remedy is a decoction prepared on the basis of pine needles. You need to take 5 tablespoons of young needles (pine, juniper, spruce). Pour them with two glasses of boiling water and cook over very low heat. When the liquid comes to a boil, boil for another 10 minutes, then let it brew for 8 hours in a warm place, strain and drink 4 times a day, 100 ml.
- Tincture based on birch earrings. To prepare it, you need to take staminate (large) birch earrings, fill a liter jar with them by about 2/3. Then pour them with vodka and leave for 2 weeks. Further, you do not need to filter the tincture. It is recommended to take it in 20 drops (less than 1 tsp) half an hour before meals three times a day. It helps soothe pain in the heart, eliminate shortness of breath and invigorate.
- You can also prepare a decoction based on motherwort, hawthorn flowers, marsh dryweed (these herbs need to be taken in 3 parts). Then add some of the flowers of the pharmacy chamomile to them. 1 tbsp pour this mixture with a glass of boiling water, let it brew for 8 hours, strain and drink 100 ml three times a day one hour after eating.
- In equal parts, you need to mix the flowers of hawthorn, linden, calendula, dill seeds and oat straw. This collection must be crushed into powder, then take 5 grams of it and pour a glass of boiling water. Insist in a thermos for 3 hours so that the water cools slowly. Then strain it and take it warm 3-4 times a day, 50 ml for half an hour before meals.[6].
- For rheumatic pericarditis, a tincture of cornflower blue flowers is used. For its preparation 1 tbsp. flowers need to be poured with 100 ml of 70-degree alcohol, and insisted in a jar under a lid for 12 days. It is worth taking this medicine 20 drops three times a day half an hour before meals. The duration of the course of treatment is determined by the general condition of the patient.
- Dry pericarditis is treated with rosehip and honey infusion. To prepare a healing remedy, pour 1 tsp. chopped fruit with two glasses of boiling water. Use a thermos for this purpose. Let it brew for 10 hours, then add 1 tbsp. honey and drink this tea 125 ml three times a day.
- A medicinal mixture based on lemon and honey is a tasty and useful remedy for pericarditis. You need to grind the lemons together with the peel, but without the seeds. Then add the powdered apricot kernels, add a little pelargonium gruel and 500 ml of honey. Consume 1 tsp before each meal.
Dangerous and harmful foods for pericarditis
There are a number of products, the use of which with pericarditis should be strictly limited or completely excluded from the diet. These include:
- Salt – there is a strictly defined rate for a day that cannot be exceeded. It is 5 grams of salt per day in all foods consumed. To keep track of this level, it is better not to salt the dishes during the cooking process, but add this spice to the finished dish just before eating it.
- Liquid – of course, you can drink water, tea, juices, decoctions. But tea should be weak, coffee and cocoa should be excluded altogether. The total amount of liquid you drink should not exceed 1,5 liters per day. Alcohol is strictly prohibited.
- Pickles, smoked meats – eating them can lead to edema, as well as fluid retention in the body. With pericarditis, this is an extremely undesirable phenomenon.
- Fatty foods, including meat, broths, bacon, canned meat, liver, sausages. They can raise the level of cholesterol in the blood, which immediately affects the work of the heart in a bad way.
- Legumes, cabbage, any mushrooms are foods that cause flatulence, and doctors also strongly recommend to refuse them.
- Chocolate, sweets, flour products, as well as tonic decoctions and herbal teas, which have an exciting effect on the nervous system.
- It is important to avoid fried, spicy foods. The best way to heat food is boiling, steaming or baking.
During the period of pericarditis, it is important not to burden the digestive system, to eat healthy, easily digestible foods in small portions. The optimal number of meals per day is about 5-6 times. It is important to cook your own food, and not buy ready-made or even use semi-finished products. So you can control, firstly, the quality of the products that are taken as a basis. And secondly, avoid prohibited foods: excessive fat content, salt.
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The administration is not responsible for any attempt to apply any recipe, advice or diet, and also does not guarantee that the specified information will help or harm you personally. Be prudent and always consult an appropriate physician!
Attention!
The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!