Constrictive Pericarditis: Serial Hemodynamic Studies

Hemodynamic studies following pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis.

PERICARDIECTOMY for constrictive pericarditis was first successfully performed just over 50 years ago' and has subsequently become the accepted definitive method of treatment. Postoperative clinical evaluations during this time have indicated good to excellent results in the majority of patients.2 8 Despite the wide use of cardiac catheterization in the preoperative evaluation of patients with ...

Hemodynamic effects of catecholamine stimulation in constrictive pericarditis.

Constrictive pericarditis.

The hemodynamic findings in five patients are presented in order to demonstrate the variability in the clinical and physiologic patterns that may be encountered in restrictive disease of the pericardium. The mechanical effects of pericardial encasement previously described were confirmed. Furthermore, it was found that myocardial insufficiency and hypervolemia were not only important causative ...

Constrictive pericarditis in a 19-month-old child.

We report a case of chronic nonspecific constrictive pericarditis with myocardial involvement in a 19-month-old infant. The patient underwent total pericardiectomy and had irreversible hemodynamic instability. Constrictive pericarditis is rare in childhood. It may follow several processes, most frequently an infectious disease. The natural course of the disease consists of progressive myocardia...

Constrictive Pericarditis as a Never Ending Story: What's New?

Nowadays, we have a better understanding of the natural history of constrictive pericarditis such as transient constriction. In addition, we have acquired the correct understanding of hemodynamic features that are unique to constrictive pericarditis. This understanding has allowed us to diagnose constrictive pericarditis reliably with Doppler echocardiography and differentiation between constri...