Transient constrictive pericarditis (CP) is quite rare, with only a few reports presented. Herein, we report 2 cases of transient CP following cardiac surgery. Case 1 was an 80-year-old man who underwent repair of a left ventricular free wall rupture, while Case 2 was a 69-year-old woman who underwent a conventional aortic valve implantation procedure. In both cases, constrictive features devel...

The patient presented by Dr Patricia Campbell1 from the Advanced Heart Disease Section of Brigham and Women’s Hospital exemplifies challenges that surround the possible diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis. Constrictive pericarditis is a pericardial compressive syndrome due to fibrosis, scarring, and occasionally calcification of the pericardium. The primary pathophysiological consequence is ...

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) following hemopericardium has been reported in the literature but its pathogenesis is open to question. Proposed mechanisms include trauma leading to damage of the mesothelial lining resulting in decreased fibrinolytic activity in the presence of blood. We present a patient who sustained blunt thoracoabdominal trauma in a car accident and subsequently developed de...

In a study of 30 consecutive patients with constrictive pericarditis diagnosed by clinical, radiological, and echocardiographic criteria 21 (70%) were found to have pulsatile hepatomegaly. The pulsations were felt clinically and confirmed by external hepatic recordings. These pulsations conformed almost identically to the jugular venous pulsations in the neck. The hepatic pulsations disappeared...

Background/Introduction Constrictive pericarditis causes progressively impaired diastolic filling of the heart with associated symptoms of heart failure. High filling pressure in the right atrium creates high hepatic venous pressure with subsequent impairment liver function. Hepatic function has been proposed as an indirect index of cardiac failure in constrictive pericarditis. A non-invasive l...

p i a i t e e p p a d i p a f T s a b v s c u a u i fi c w s t o o t p The diagnosis of pericardial disease can be difficult and often requires a multimodality imaging approach. In particular, the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis can be challenging, and differentiation from restrictive cardiomyopathy is important for management. Currently, diagnostic evaluations focus on evaluation of per...