What Causes Pericarditis

What are the causes?
The main causes of acute pericarditis are viral infections (> 80%). Pericarditis can also be seen in tuberculosis or HIV infection (common in developing countries), or in connection with cancer. Other possible causes include kidney failure, and radiation damage.

In 5-10% of patients with acute myocardial infarction occurs a slight pericarditis after a few days. The condition is usually harmless, and it goes back by itself. As a result of modern treatment (thrombolysis), this pericarditis form becomes less frequent. Another type of pericarditis occurs later in throughout heart attack in 10-20% of infarct patients.

The chronic constrictive form can occur as a result of radiotherapy (radiation to the tumor tissue in the chest cavity), heart surgery or previously performed viral pericarditis.