Dressler's syndrome (patient information)

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Dressler's syndrome

Overview

What are the symptoms?

What are the causes?

Who is at highest risk?

When to seek urgent medical care?

Diagnosis

Treatment options

Where to find medical care for Dressler's syndrome?

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Possible complications

Prevention

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Pericarditis is inflammation and swelling of the covering of the heart (pericardium). The condition can occur in the days or weeks following a heart attack.

What are the symptoms of Dressler's syndrome?

  • Anxiety
  • Chest pain
  • May come and go (recur)
  • Pain may be sharp and stabbing (pleuritic) or tight and crushing (ischemic)
  • Pain may get worse when breathing and may go away when you stand or sit up
  • Pain moves to the neck, shoulder, back, or abdomen
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Dry cough
  • Fast heart rate (tachycardia)
  • Fatigue
  • Fever (more common with the second type of pericarditis)
  • Malaise (general ill feeling)
  • Splinting of ribs (bending over or holding the chest) with deep breathing

What causes Dressler's syndrome?

  • Two types of pericarditis can occur after a heart attack.
    • The first type of pericarditis most often occurs within 2 to 5 days after a heart attack. When the body tries to clean up the diseased heart tissue, swelling and inflammation occur.
    • The second type of pericarditis is also called Dressler's syndrome (or post-cardiac injury syndrome or postcardiotomy pericarditis). It occurs several weeks or months after a heart attack, heart surgery, or other trauma to the heart. Dressler's syndrome is believed to be caused by the immune system attacking the area.
    • Pain occurs when the pericardium becomes inflamed (swollen) and rubs on the heart.

Who is at highest risk?

You have a higher risk of pericarditis if you have had a previous heart attack, open heart surgery, or chest trauma, or if your heat attack affected the thickness of your heart muscle.

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your health care provider if:

You develop symptoms of pericarditis after a heart attack You have been diagnosed with pericarditis and symptoms continue or come back, despite treatment

Diagnosis

The health care provider will use a stethoscope to listen to your heart and lungs. There may be a rubbing sound (called a pericardial friction rub, not to be confused with a heart murmur). Heart sounds in general may be weak or sound far away. A buildup of fluid in the covering of the heart or space around the lungs (pericardial effusion) is not common after a heart attack. But, it often does occur in some patients with Dressler's syndrome. Tests may include:

Treatment options

The goal of treatment is to make the heart work better and reduce pain and other symptoms.

  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) or aspirin may be used to treat inflammation of the pericardium. Usually aspirin, even in high doses, is preferred in early post-MI pericarditis. In extreme cases, when other medicines don't work, steroids or colchicine may be used.

Where to find medical care for Dressler's syndrome?

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

The condition may come back, even in people who receive treatment. In some cases, untreated pericarditis can be life threatening.

Possible complications

Prevention

Sources

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000166.htm

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