Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about pericarditis.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash pericarditis

or in the cardiology section of the second edition of the zero to finals medicine book.

So let's get straight into it.

Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, which is the membrane that surrounds the heart.

The most common causes are idiopathic, meaning there's no underlying cause, and viruses.

It presents with chest pain and fever and it's treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Let's start with some pathophysiology. The membrane that surrounds

the heart is called the pericardium or the pericardial sac. It has two layers with a small amount of

fluid in between the layers, less than 50 milliliters, which provides lubrication for the movement of the heart.

These layers separate the heart from the rest of the contents of the Mediastinum.

Lubrication between the two layers allows the heart to beat without generating too much friction.

There is a potential space between the two layers of the pericardium, which is called the pericardial cavity.

The two layers usually touch each other, which is why it's only a potential space.

Pericarditis refers to inflammation of the pericardium.

There are many potential underlying causes for this

inflammation, including idiopathic, meaning there's no underlying cause, infections such as tuberculosis,

HIV, Coxsackey virus, Epstein-Barr virus and other viruses,

autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosis and rheumatoid arthritis,

injury to the pericardium, for example, after a myocardial infarction or a heart attack,

open heart surgery or trauma,

...