Who gets pericarditis and what does it feel like?
This problem occurs most often in men ages 20 to 50. Chest pain is common, especially pain behind the breastbone. Sometimes this pain spreads to the neck and left shoulder. Pain from pericarditis is different from angina (AN’jih-nah or an-JI’nah). (Angina is chest pain or discomfort due to reduced blood supply to the heart muscle.) Angina feels like pressure, but pericarditis usually is a sharp, piercing pain over the center or left side of the chest. Often this pain gets worse if the person takes a deep breath. Less often the pain is dull. A fever is also common. Often people with pericarditis report feeling sick. Some have pain when they swallow. What causes pericarditis? In most cases, why pericarditis occurs is unknown. However, it can result from one or more of these: • a viral, bacterial or fungal infection • heart attack • cancer spreading from a nearby tumor in the lung, breast or the blood • radiation treatment • injury or surgery Sometimes it accompanies rheumatoid arthritis,
