There are certain causes of pericardial effusion that he is watching for. In general, if it is a small effusion and there isn't an underlying problem with hiv or cancer, people do fine with this. The doctor would most likely be checking to make sure your blood count isn't dropping, which could indicate bleeding into the pericardium. Other causes of pericardial effusion include: congestive heart failure, valvular disease, neoplasm ( malignant, nonmalignant, mediatsinal lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, metastatic breast cancer), infection (bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, hiv-related, tuberculosis), autoimmune or connective tissue disorders, trauma, uremia (kidney problems), postpericardiotomy syndrome (after incision into the pericardium), chylopericardium (a milky pericardial effusion resulting from obstruction of the thoracic duct or trauma), myxedema (hypothyroidism), and radiation. The doctor would also be checking to make sure your blood count isn't dropping, which could indicate bleeding into the pericardium.
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