What is pericardial disease?
The stretchable, flexible two layered sac the surrounds the heart is called the pericardium. This sac holds just enough of a lubricating fluid between the two layers to allow them to slide over one another with ease. The pericardium sac is what holds the heart in place. It also prevents the heart from over filling with blood and protects it from chest infections. Even so, the pericardium sac is not essential to life since when removed there is no notable difference in the way the heart performs. There have been rare cases where the pericardium was missing at birth or had weakened spots or holes. In this situation there is danger that a major blood vessel might herniate or bulge through a hole and become trapped causing death within minutes. Due to this these defects are usually repaired or when repairs are not possible the pericardium is completely removed. In most cases, aside from birth defects, pericardial disease has been known to develope from injuries, infections and wide spread
