Pericardial Effusion as a First Manifestation of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Case Report

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that mainly affects the joints, which can lead to joint deformity. Since the disease is systemic, it affects many organs, including the heart, which can lead to pericarditis, coronary artery disease, and heart failure. We are reporting on a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cureus 2023, Vol.15 (12), p.e50489-e50489
Main Authors: Alqahtani, Fahad S, Alashhab, Yasser J, Manasfi, Hanady O, Alanazi, Wejdan, Alsenani, Abdulaziz I
Format: Report
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that mainly affects the joints, which can lead to joint deformity. Since the disease is systemic, it affects many organs, including the heart, which can lead to pericarditis, coronary artery disease, and heart failure. We are reporting on a male patient, 34 years of age and Sudanese, who complained of shortness of breath and chest pain that started weeks before he came to the hospital, with no other associated symptoms. The patient was admitted to the hospital, and extensive work was done for the patient, which revealed that he had pericardial effusion secondary to RA, which is the first presentation of the disease. RA rarely presents as a first presentation with pericarditis and pericardial effusion. The patient was managed medically, and he showed significant improvement.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.50489