The internal and important organs in our body, such as the heart, lungs, and digestive system organs, are covered with a membrane that isolates these organs from each other, so that each organ is completely separate from the other. If a disease or infection occurs in a specific organ, these membranes help prevent the spread of the disease to other organs.
The heart remains surrounded by a membrane called the “cardiac membrane” or “pericardium,” and it consists of two layers, one touching the wall of the heart and the other touching the wall of the rib cage, and between them is a viscous fluid that helps the two layers move over each other without causing friction, and this facilitates the movement of contraction. And the simplicity of the heart.
Sometimes, this membrane can become infected with a viral or bacterial infection, and symptoms appear through very severe pain in the chest area, similar to the pain of a heart attack. Also, there are changes in the electrocardiogram that are very similar to changes in a stroke, and heart enzymes increase with them. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between a clot and synovitis. But one of the signs that indicate inflammation of the membrane is the presence of an increased amount of fluid between the two layers, which we can know from the echo examination, with no effect on the heart muscle.
Pericarditis is treated using only medicinal analgesics, without requiring any operations.
