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 The matters of the heart are not to be dealt with lightly, whether emotional or physiological. One of the things that protects your heart from infections, over-expansion, and is responsible for keeping it safely tucked away in the chest cavity, is the pericardium. It is made of two thin-layered sacs which contain fluid. Although its key function is to shield your heart, the pericardium itself can be prone to getting inflamed under certain circumstances. The inflammation of the pericardium is known as pericarditis.

Pericarditis can be of various types, depending on the underlying condition or cause. One particular form of this condition is uremic pericarditis. Patient’s who display classic manifestations of pericarditis due to renal failure or kidney disorders before dialysis or renal replacement therapy can be termed as uremic pericarditis. An offshoot of uremic pericarditis known as dialysis pericarditis is described for patients who develop symptoms of pericarditis after dialysis stabilization. A typical characteristic of uremic pericarditis is fibrinous aseptic inflammation, which can either be diffused or localized within the visceral and parietal layers of the pericardium. Membranes and tissues start to thicken with the increase in blood vessel development; movement within the layers sometimes causes these blood vessels to break, giving birth to effusion of blood and serum between adhesion bands.

The most common symptom of uremic pericarditis is chest pain that occurs in the left area besides the sternum. This pain can also radiate to the back, neck and shoulders. Other symptoms associated with the condition are cough, labored breathing, weight-loss, fatigue, uneasiness, fever, chills, pericardial friction rub, and rarely irregular pulse, abnormal blood pressure in the jugular vein, abnormal enlargement of the liver, and abnormally low blood pressure.

Treatment of this form of pericarditis is dependent on hemodynamic stability, which are the forces involved in the circulation of blood. Different therapies are used with different cases of uremic pericarditis but the two most commonly used ones are:

• Intensive Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis – Hemodialysis is the use of a special filter and a dialysis machine that acts as an artificial kidney, also known as a dialyzer. Blood is transported from the patient’s body and into the dialyzer. The filter then cleans the blood of urea, potassium, creatinine, and other waste products by washing it away. A patient may be switched to peritoneal dialysis for heparin-free dialysis to avoid hemorrhage.
• Anti-inflammatory Medicines and Corticosteroids – Anti-inflammatory medicines are provided to reduce the symptoms of fever and pains, however they do not increase the chances of resolving pericardial effusion. High corticosteroids are sometimes beneficial but come with side-effects.
• Effusion Drainage – This procedure is performed if the problem is not resolved within 2 weeks of intense dialysis or the effusion gets larger.
  

There are also a few things that you can do at home to manage uremic pericarditis, these are:

• Eat a healthy and balanced diet with adequate amounts of high-protein foods like chicken and fish.
• Avoid consuming foods with too much potassium content.
• Avoid eating foods high in salt. Salt makes your body retain water and tends to make you thirsty.
• Limit fluid intake. Water can build up very easily when the kidneys are not functioning well, making tissues swell. This can result in cramps, heart trouble, high blood pressure and low blood pressure during dialysis
• Avoid eating fatty, greasy, fried foods. It is also good to limit your intake of cheese, nuts, milk, dried beans, and dark colas.  These particular forms of food are high in mineral phosphorus, which when absorbed in the blood in high quantities can lead to extraction of calcium from the bones.
  

Reference

1. http://cmbi.bjmu.edu.cn/uptodate/pediatric%20cardiology/Pericardial%20disease/Pericarditis%20in%20renal%20failure.htm

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

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