Acute pericarditis

The heart is covered by two thin membranes (i.e., the pericardium), the visceral and parietal layers. Acute pericarditis is an acute inflammation of these layers and can coexist with myocarditis and endocarditis, either alone or simultaneously. In cases of coexisting conditions, it is often part of a systemic disease or caused by the spread of lesions from adjacent organs or tissues. The typical clinical manifestations are the three major features: chest pain, pericardial friction rub, and characteristic ST-T changes on the electrocardiogram.