When To Call A Professional
Table of Contents
Call your doctor whenever you have chest pain, whether or not you have a fever.
Prognosis
Most people with viral pericarditis recover within one month, although up to 25 percent of patients have the condition return at least once. If the condition returns repeatedly over more than two years, a pericardiectomy may be necessary.
People with pericarditis caused by heart attack or cardiac trauma usually recover in one to two weeks. Other forms of pericarditis (uremic, collagen vascular, rheumatic) may come and go depending on course of the underlying medical illness.
Additional Info
American Heart Association (AHA) 7272 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231 Toll-Free (800) 242-8721 Fax: (214) 706-2139 http://www.americanheart.org/
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) 6701 Rockledge Dr. P.O. Box 30105 Bethesda, MD 20824-0105 Phone: (301) 592-8573 E-Mail: NHLBIinfo@rover.nhlbi.nih.gov http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
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