What to know about heart inflammation after MSNBC anchor's heart problems were triggered by a common cold

• Journalist Yasmin Vossoughian shared her diagnoses of the heart conditions pericarditis and myocarditis.
• The MSNBC news anchor's conditions were caused by a common cold, she said.

MSNBC anchor Yasmin Vossoughian recently spoke out about her diagnoses of the heart conditions pericarditis and myocarditis, both of which were brought on by a common cold.

Vossoughian told Insider's Allana Akhtar that she went to the hospital on New Year's Eve after two weeks of chest pain and was diagnosed with pericarditis, having been misdiagnosed with acid reflux the day prior.

Pericarditis is a condition which causes thin tissue surrounding the heart to become inflamed. The causes can include inflammation disorders and viruses like the common colds.

Vossoughian needed to get fluid around her heart drained, and was later diagnosed with myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle.

What to know about heart inflammation

Myocarditis, pericarditis, and endocarditis are are all types of heart inflammation. Each affects a different area of the heart, according to the Myocarditis Foundation.

The human heart has three layers, and each condition refers to inflammation of a different one: the pericardium is the outermost layer containing connective tissue and serous membranes, the myocardium is the middle layer (the muscle of the heart), and the endocardium is the innermost layer containing connective tissues and several valves.

The three conditions often have different causes.

Pericarditis and myocarditis are most often caused by viral illnesses such as the common cold or flu, according to the British Heart Foundation.

When a virus spreads to and infects the heart, causing inflammation, it can make breathing difficult and weaken the heart.

Endocarditis is most commonly caused by a systemic infection of bacteria, fungi, or other germs that spread through the body using the bloodstream, according to the foundation.

Pericarditis and myocarditis are usually treated with an anti-inflammatory medicine, but treatment can take months or years. In some cases, the heart is too weak to recover fully, and the patient has to undergo a heart transplant.

Endocarditis can be treated by antibiotics, but if the infection has damaged the heart's valves, surgery may be required to repair or replace damaged tissues.