This week, Denver Broncos wide receiver KJ Hamler announced that he had been diagnosed with pericarditis, or inflammation of the heart. Hamler said he started feeling chest pain while working out prior to Broncos training camp.
“I’ve got a great treatment plan with medicine and am taking a quick break to get this all taken care of so I can get back to doing what I love,” Hamler wrote in an Instagram post.
The Broncos have waived Hamler with a non-football illness and hope to bring him back early in the 2023 season.
So what is pericarditis? We asked Michael Cain, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery, about the condition and its causes and treatment.