Carditis

[From Gr. kardia, the heart.] ( Med. ) An inflammation of the heart, characterized by pain in the re. gion of the heart, great anxiety, fever, difficulty of breathing, palpitation, cough, irregular pulse, and fainting. It is applied properly to inflammation of the muscular ti ue of the heart itself; but this is a form of disease that rarely occurs alone, being usually accompanied by peri carditis, or inflammation of the pericardium, or by en do carditis, or inflammation of the lining membrane of the heart. The symptoms and treatment in each case are similar. See HEART, (DISEASES OF THE.) The