Did You Know?
Many asbestos-containing products remain in buildings, ships, industrial facilities and other environments where the fibers can become airborne.
Pericardial mesothelioma is a very rare form of mesothelioma and accounts for approximately 5% of all mesothelioma cases. Pericardial mesothelioma is a highly lethal and fortunately the rarest of mesothelioma cancers. Pericardial mesothelioma is a disease that affects the lining of the heart, or pericardium. Sometimes doctors refer to this disease as mesothelioma of the pericardium.
Pericardial mesothelioma is the most infrequent form of this rare asbestos-linked cancer. Individuals with pericardial mesothelioma have cancerous growths in tissues surrounding the heart. Due to the rarity of this cancer, pericardial mesothelioma has not been definitely associated with asbestos exposure, although strong links between asbestos and pericardial mesothelioma have been made.
Pericardial mesothelioma patients can exhibit all three kinds of mesothelioma cancer cells:
- Epithelioid mesothelioma
- Sarcomatoid mesothelioma
- Biphasic mesothelioma
Pericardial Mesothelioma Symptoms include:
- Chest pain
- Dyspnea
- Bad Cough
- Palpitations
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Weight loss
- Patients displaying the symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma are usually given either an X-Ray or a CT scan to look for evidence of pericardial mesothelioma.
Pericardial Mesothelioma - Surgery
This is a palliative treatment usually not intended to achieve a cure.
It is not clearly understood how the asbestos fibers become lodged in the heart serous lining or pericardium. It is possible that asbestos fibers, after being broken into smaller pieces in the lungs, are carried from the lungs into the blood stream. As the fibers are pumped through the heart, they become lodged in the heart lining. Once lodged in the pericardium, the chronic inflammation process leading to cancerous growths is similar to that occurring in pleural mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma Types
Mesothelioma can attack the pleural lining around the lungs. It can also attack the peritoneum, a tissue that surrounds the GI tract. Mesothelioma can attack the stomach lining, other internal organs, or even the pericardium (the tissue sac covering the heart). Thus, mesothelioma can be generally classified into the following types:
- Pleural — 75% of all mesothelioma cases
- Peritoneal — 10%–20%
- Pericardial — 5%
Pericardial Mesothelioma Exposure
The National Institute of Health in 1978 estimated that eight to eleven million U.S. workers had been exposed to asbestos by that date. In fact, by 1970, it is estimated that some 25 million tons of asbestos were used in the U.S.
People all over the world have been poisoned by toxic levels of asbestos, putting them at risk for mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other deadly diseases that are directly caused by the inhalation and digesting of asbestos fibers.
Asbestos was used in thousands of products that humans and animals encounter on a daily basis particularly in building components such as ceiling and floor tiles, walls, bricks and stucco, and in automotive parts such as brakes and clutches.
Workers who have mesothelioma have labored for years in jobs that required frequent contact with asbestos. When asbestos is mined, processed, woven, sprayed or otherwise manipulated, its microscopic fibers can be released into the air, where they may be inhaled, initiating the development of mesothelioma.
