Hi,

i'm 27 and I just recently had pericarditis with some pleural effusion. Pericarditis isn't life threatening (unless too much fluid builds up in the pericardium because that will make it harder for his heart to beat). Your son will complain about chest pain and shallow breathing long before that can become a huge problem. Pericarditis does take a long time to recover, and having gone way too quickly back into my sports (and paid the price by aggrevating it) I would recommend taking it easy. No doctor seems to advice this, but just from my experience it did come back very quickly as soon as I started pushing myself too hard in sports.

Pericarditis can also cause ahrrythmias, including tachycardia and rapid atrial fibrillations. I had both. They aren't life threatening, but do feel extremely uncomfortable (especially for young people i've been told, their nerve endings are more sensitive). I was told the heart can handle up towards 300 beats per minute before you pass out, mine was up to 240 in my tachycardia phase and I was able to walk and get a lift to the hospital.

It all feels incredibly frightening, but it doesn't leave any long term damage and it is 99% of the time just likely caused by a viral infection. Anyone can get it. If he gets re-occuring pericarditis, then he should definitely look into his life style choices (maybe he should anyway by the sounds of it), and also make sure he gets the proper care. There are conditions that cause re-occuring pericarditis (including lupus).

Medline is a fantastic resource if you want to learn more.

Http://www.Nlm.Nih.Gov/medlineplus/ency/ar ticle/000182.Htm

also make sure they've done things like a blood culture, to make sure it's not a bacteria that's the cause behind it. That needs anti-biotics.

Hope this was some help to you.