P ericarditis is possibly the most common cause of chest pain after an acute transmural myocardial infarction without reperfusion.' It occurs in approximately 28% to 40% of fatal transmural infarctions,2-8 and a pericardial effusion is detectable by serial echocardiograms in 28% to 63% of patients with a nonfatal transmural infarction.9-12 Yet the clinically reported frequency of postinfarction...

Disorders of the Pericardium Pericardial Effusion Pericarditis Acute Pericarditis Chronic Pericarditis With Effusion Constrictive Pericarditis Coronary Heart Disease Coronary Circulation Pathogenesis of Coronary Heart Disease Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease Stable Angina Variant Angina Silent Myocardial Ischemia Acute Coronary Syndromes Unstable Angina/Non–ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarct...

Although it is now recognised as a rare complication of cardiac surgery, constrictive pericarditis was diagnosed in three patients after coronary artery bypass surgery. The time interval between cardiac surgery and the development of constrictive features varied from two to six weeks. All three patients presented with severe congestive heart failure. Haemodynamic findings were characteristic of...

Constrictive pericarditis is an uncommon post-inflammatory disorder characterized by a variably thickened, fibrotic, and frequently calcified, pericardium. Etiology of the constriction can occur for many reasons. Although foreign bodies are not the common cause of constrictive pericarditis, the long-term presence of foreign bodies, like bullets, is presumed to cause chronic constrictive pericar...

BACKGROUND Constrictive pericarditis is a potentially reversible cause of heart failure that may be difficult to differentiate from restrictive myocardial disease and severe tricuspid regurgitation. Echocardiography provides an important opportunity to evaluate for constrictive pericarditis, and definite diagnostic criteria are needed. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with surgically confirmed co...

Background Because of anatomic proximity, myocarditis is often associated with pericarditis. Although randomized trials have not delineated a successful evidence-based therapy for myocarditis, there is evidence of considerable benefit in treating pericarditis with a regimen of colchicine and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Cardiac MRI (CMR) is capable of detecting both myocardit...