Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, the glandular organ in the upper abdomen responsible for producing digestive enzymes and hormones including insulin. The inflammation causes the pancreas’s own digestive enzymes to activate prematurely within the gland, damaging pancreatic tissue and triggering a systemic inflammatory response.
Acute pancreatitis presents with severe upper abdominal pain (often radiating to the back), nausea, vomiting, and elevated blood levels of pancreatic enzymes (amylase and lipase). The most common causes in the UK are gallstones (which block the pancreatic duct) and alcohol excess. Severe acute pancreatitis can cause multi-organ failure, including cardiovascular collapse and, in extreme cases, cardiac arrest from distributive shock.
Chronic pancreatitis results from repeated inflammation that progressively damages the pancreas, destroying both exocrine and endocrine function. When sufficient beta cells are destroyed, insulin production becomes inadequate, causing pancreatogenic (type 3c) diabetes. This form of diabetes carries similar cardiovascular risks to other types, including increased rates of coronary artery disease and cardiac arrhythmias from associated electrolyte disturbances.
In critically ill patients, including those recovering from cardiac arrest in intensive care, pancreatitis may develop as a complication of the illness or its treatment. Hypocalcaemia (low calcium) associated with severe pancreatitis can affect cardiac function and arrhythmia risk, and should be monitored and corrected promptly.
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