Pts. must remind health care providers to prescribe prophylactic antibiotics before any invasive procedure. There may be pleural effusion with acute pericarditis. Uremic pericarditis is treated with hemodialysis. Surgery is done for chronic constrictive pericarditis to remove the thickened membrane that forms. In acute, sometimes a pericardial window must be done to drain excess fluid from the pericardial sac.
Hypertension increases afterload.
ST depression may be seen with ischemia. I.V. titrated to control chest pain, reduce preload and afterload, and dilate the coronary arteries. This drug also reduces myocardial oxygen demands. Blood Pressure must be monitored continuously. Research has shown that there are improved survival rates when these drugs are given.