Pericarditis NCLEX Review: Serous Fluid Is Between The Parietal and Visceral Layer
Pericarditis NCLEX Review: Serous Fluid Is Between The Parietal and Visceral Layer
Pericarditis NCLEX Review: Serous Fluid Is Between The Parietal and Visceral Layer
What is the pericardium layer? It is a double layered sac filled with serous fluid that surrounds
the heart which:
Fibrous pericardium
Serous pericardium which has two layers
Parietal pericardium
Serous fluid is between the parietal and visceral layer
Visceral pericardium (also called the epicardium)
Causes of Pericarditis
Illness: viral, bacterial infection
Trauma: heart attack, heart surgery, physical injury
Autoimmune: body causes it (ex: Lupus)
Unknown: idiopathic
Types of Pericarditis
Acute: pericarditis that last for less than 6 weeks (most common)
Can lead to constrictive pericarditis: where thick tissue forms around the pericardium and
this compresses the heart (the heart can’t expand to fill with blood properly). The
compression causes the heart not to fill properly and this leads to heart failure.
Also, chronic pericarditis can lead to a pericardial effusion (too much fluid around the
heart) ..hence cardiac tamponade.
Can have both: Effusion-Constrictive Pericarditis
Complications of Pericarditis
Cardiac Tamponade: pericardial effusion causes fluid to build up around the heart and
compresses it.
Constrictive pericarditis: recurrent pericarditis causes thickening of the pericardium that
leads to heart failure.
Signs and Symptoms of Pericarditis
Remember “Friction”
Aspirin OR
NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications) Ibuprofen…watch for GI bleeding..take
with a full glass of water
Colchicine: decreases the inflammation (used in gout) don’t take with grapefruit juice
because this increases toxicity (nausea vomiting, abdominal pain, (can take it with or without
food)
Corticosteriods: used if patient not responding to other treatments…Prednisone..decreases
the inflammation
IV antibiotics for infection