Among the countless topics addressed during the pandemic covid-19, Surprisingly, the false pericarditis caused by the vaccine. It was a flagrant oversight that should not be repeated now, at the beginning of a vaccination campaign that has begun too quietly, with the risk of serious repercussions. As an example, in France, the State has just compensated patients who reported having suffered pericarditis or myocarditis due to the vaccine, a precedent that could be amplified by endangering the foundations of vaccination. Now it is important to specify what is meant by false pericarditis and this cannot be done without reviewing medical concepts.
The myocarditis is the inflammation of the heart muscle, usually caused by a virus. It is not produced by a simple direct attack, but through a complex interaction between the virus, the heart and the immune system. This explains why the same virus can be harmless in some individuals and lethal in others; It is important to note that fulminant myocarditis more frequently affects healthy young people than frail elderly people. In some cases, myocarditis may be accompanied by pericarditisthus forming a condition called myopericarditis.
For its part, pericarditis is the inflammation of the pericardium, the layer that surrounds the heart and is made up of two thin and transparent layers, similar to food film, with a serous fluid inside, analogous to the pleurae of the lungs. The pericardium fulfills a protective and lubricating function, and the fluid between the two layers is maintained in a stable quantity thanks to a physiological turnover, and can pathologically increase during inflammation, What is pericarditis?
He diagnosis of pericarditis is not simple and consists of clinical signs, laboratory tests and instrumental studies: specific chest pain, increase in blood indicators of inflammation and cardiac markers, abnormalities in the electrocardiogram (ECG) and abnormal presence of pericardial fluid in echocardiography.
During the pandemic, in addition to the confirmed cases of myocarditis and pericarditis caused by Covid-19cases of cardiac involvement were suspected after anti-Covid vaccination, although to a much lesser extent and with a generally benign course.