26 November 2009

Abuja — The Presidency came clear yesterday to announce that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is suffering from acute pericarditis, an inflammatory condition of the covering of the heart.

But it allayed fears over the 58-year-old President's health condition, saying that he is responding "remarkably well" at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Chief Physician to the President, Dr. Salisu Banye, said in a terse statement entitled, "President Yar'Adua's Health Condition", the President, who is responding to treatment for his ailment, was diagnosed of having "acute pericarditis".

The doctor said, "At about 3pm on Friday, November 20, after he returned from the Abuja Central Mosque where he performed the Juma'at prayers, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua complained of left sided severe chest pain. Preliminary medical examinations suggested Acute Pericarditis (an inflammatory condition of the coverings of the heart).

"It was then decided that he should undertake confirmatory checks at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he had had his last medical check-up in August.

"The medical review and tests undertaken at the hospital have confirmed the initial diagnosis that the President is indeed suffering from acute pericarditis."

Banye added, "He is now receiving treatment for the ailment and is responding remarkably well".

The latest revelation has introduced a new dimension to what was usually known to be the President's medical condition -- a chronic kidney condition for at least 10 years.

Officials used to deny rumours that the President was seriously ill and Yar'Adua himself used to dismiss inquiries regarding the exact nature of his ailment with the insistence that his life was "in the hands of God".

According to the American Heart Association, pedicarditis usually lasts one to three weeks, but is treatable with drugs or, in extreme cases, surgery. About 20 percent of pericarditis patients have a recurrence within months.

BBC health reporter Michelle Roberts says most cases of pericarditis clear up with rest and medication within a few weeks, although patients will initially need to be treated in hospital to check for complications.

The Merck Manuals, an online medical library, said, "Acute pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium that begins suddenly", which is often painful, and causes fluid and blood components such as fibrin, red blood cells, and white blood cells to pour into the pericardial space.

"Infection and other conditions that can irritate the pericardium cause pericarditis; fever and chest pain, which may feel like a heart attack, are common symptoms. Diagnosis is based on symptoms and by hearing a tell-tale sound when listening to the heartbeat with a stethoscope.

"People are hospitalised and given drugs to reduce pain and inflammation. Acute pericarditis usually results from infection or other conditions that irritate the pericardium. Infection is usually due to a virus but may be caused by bacteria, parasites (including protozoa), or fungi.

"In some inner city hospitals, AIDS is the most common cause of pericarditis with extra fluid in the pericardial space (pericardial effusion). In people who have AIDS, a number of infections, including tuberculosis, may result in pericarditis.

"Pericarditis due to tuberculosis (tuberculous pericarditis) accounts for less than 5% of cases of acute pericarditis in the United States but accounts for the majority of cases in some areas of India and Africa."

The world respected medical library said other conditions could irritate the pericardium and thus can cause acute pericarditis.

"These conditions include a heart attack, heart surgery, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney failure, injury, cancer (such as leukemia and, in people with AIDS, Kaposi's sarcoma), rheumatic fever, an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), radiation therapy, and leakage of blood from an aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the wall of the aorta.

"After a heart attack, acute pericarditis develops during the first day or two in 10 to 15% of people and after about 10 days to 2 months in 1 to 3%. Acute pericarditis may occur as a side effect of certain drugs, including anticoagulants."

The symptoms, according to it, include fever and chest pain, which typically extends to the left shoulder and sometimes down left arm. The pain may be similar to that of a heart attack, except that it tends to be made worse by lying down, swallowing food, coughing, or even deep breathing. The accumulating fluid or blood in the pericardial space puts pressure on the heart, interfering with its ability to pump blood. If the pressure is too high, cardiac tamponade - a potentially fatal condition - may occur.

Yar'Adua's doctor's statement underscored the seriousness with which the Presidency viewed the rumours making the round that the illness might have degenerated to the worst situation.

It could be recalled that President Yar'Adua called off his scheduled 2010 budget presentation before a joint session of the National Assembly last week Thursday as a result of the face-off between the Senate and the House of Representatives, insisting that he would only perform the obligation when both chambers decide to resolve their differences.

The sudden cancellation, however, fuelled fears that the reasons might be more than the altercation between both chambers.

The fear was, however, heightened when, instead of returning to the National Assembly last Tuesday to present the budget as reported, his office announced that he was jetting out to Saudi Arabia for further medical check-up.

He dispatched his Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, to perform the constitutional ritual on his behalf.

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