Symptoms
Symptoms of acute pericarditis include fever and chest pain, which may extend to the left shoulder and arm, as in a heart attack. The pain may feel worse when the patient lies down, coughs, or breathes deeply.
In chronic pericarditis, a back-up of fluid in the lungs can cause shortness of breath and coughing. Reduced heart performance can cause fatigue. Constricive pericarditis can also cause a swelling of legs or abdomen (associated with right-sided heart failure, and distended neck veins.
