Causes

The cause of pericarditis is often hard to determine. Sometimes, doctors can't find a cause (idiopathic pericarditis).

Pericarditis causes can include:

• Heart attack or heart surgery, which may trigger pericarditis or delayed pericarditis (Dressler's syndrome, also called postmyocardial infarction syndrome or postcardiac injury syndrome)
• Infection
• Systemic inflammatory disorders, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
• Trauma, such as injury to your heart or chest as a result of a motor vehicle or other accident
• Other health disorders, including kidney failure, AIDS, tuberculosis and cancer