Dressler's syndrome after myocardial infarction presents as which combination?

• A. ventricular aneurysm
• B. pericarditis and pleuritis
• C. cardiac tamponade
• D. pleural effusion and rash

Answer: (B)

Dressler's syndrome is an autoimmune post–myocardial infarction inflammation in which the pericardium (pericarditis) is inflamed and often accompanied by pleural inflammation (pleuritis). It typically appears weeks after a heart attack and presents with chest pain that is pleuritic and worsened by inspiration or lying flat, a pericardial friction rub, and sometimes fever and pleural effusions. The defining feature is the combination of pericarditis with pleuritis, which distinguishes Dressler's syndrome from other MI complications. Ventricular aneurysm is a late structural complication causing a scar and bulging of a ventricle, not inflammatory pericarditis; cardiac tamponade arises from large effusions causing hemodynamic collapse, which is not the hallmark of Dressler's; a pleural effusion with rash is not typical since rash isn't part of Dressler's syndrome.