Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffDressler's syndrome is a type of pericarditis, inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart (pericardium). Inflammation associated with Dressler's syndrome is believed to be an immune system response following damage to heart tissue or the pericardium, such as a heart attack, surgery or traumatic injury.
Dressler's syndrome symptoms include chest pain, much like that experienced during a heart attack, and fever.
With recent improvements in heart attack treatment, Dressler's syndrome is less common than it used to be. However, once you've had this condition, it may happen again.
Dressler's syndrome may also be called postpericardiotomy, post-myocardial infarction syndrome and post-cardiac injury syndrome.
- Imazio M. The post-pericardiotomy syndrome. Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine. 2012;18:366.
- Crawford MH, ed. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Cardiology. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3648061. Accessed June 4, 2012.
- Hoit BD. Post-cardiac injury syndromes. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed June 4, 2012.
- Dudzinski DM, et al. Pericardial diseases. Current Problems in Cardiology. 2012;37:75.
- Imazio M, et al. Meta-analysis of randomized trials focusing on prevention of the postpericardiotomy syndrome. American Journal of Cardiology. 2011;108:575.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 20, 2012.
Find Mayo Clinic on