Treatment of Pericarditis

Pericarditis is often mild and goes away on its own.

In some cases, if not treated, it can lead to chronic pericarditis and serious problems that affect your heart. Full recovery is likely with rest and ongoing care, which can help reduce your risk of getting it again.

The goals of treatment of pericarditis are to:

• Reduce pain and inflammation
• Treat the underlying cause, if it’s known
• Prevent recurrence

How is pericarditis treated?

Pericarditis is usually treated with medications that reduce pain and swelling. Most people are treated with:

• High dose of aspirin or another anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)
• Colchicine

Colchicine is usually taken for several months to help symptoms improve and lower the chance that the condition will come back.

Steroid medications (corticosteroids) may be used in some cases. This usually happens when NSAIDs or colchicine can’t be used. Steroids are often not the first choice because they can increase the risk of pericarditis coming back, especially when used early or at high doses.

People with recurrent or treatment-resistant pericarditis may need other medications, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibitors.

If a specific cause is found, treatment can be focused. For example, if the cause is a bacterial infection, antibiotics may be used.

Strenuous physical activity should be avoided until symptoms have improved and inflammation is under control.

How are complications from pericarditis treated?

If you have serious complications from pericarditis, you may need treatments that require hospital stays.

Cardiac tamponade is treated with a procedure called pericardiocentesis. A catheter is inserted into the chest wall to remove extra fluid from the pericardium. More procedures may also be needed to remove the fluid and relieve pressure from around the heart.

With constrictive pericarditis, the only cure is a pericardiectomy, a surgery to remove the pericardium. This is only done when symptoms become severe.