Pericardial disease.

In contrast to coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular disease, and other topics in the field of cardiology, there are few data from randomized trials to guide physicians in the management of pericardial diseases. Although there are no American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines on this topic, the European Society of Cardiology has recently published useful guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pericardial diseases.1 Our review focuses on the current state of knowledge and the management of the most important pericardial diseases: acute pericarditis, pericardial tamponade, pericardial constriction, and effusive constrictive pericarditis.