Constrictive pericarditis.

A study has been made of 62 patients with constrictive pericarditis. There was considerable variation from the classical description of the disease. It is hoped that the findings may be of use, because both diagnosis and treatment can sometimes cause perplexity. The atiology and mode of onset of constrictive pericarditis will be considered first, since ,these have important effects on the final clinical picture, treatment, and outcome. Twenty-eight patients developed constriction within a year of an attack of pericarditis ("acute constriction" in Table I and elsewhere). Thirty-four patients developed constriction insidiously; a few of these had a history suggestive of an attack of pericarditis more than a year before constriction developed ("chronic constriction" in Table I and elsewhere).