BACKGROUND Pericardial and intrathoracic fat depots may represent novel risk factors for obesity-related cardiovascular disease. We sought to determine the prevalence, distribution, and risk factor correlates of high pericardial and intrathoracic fat deposits. METHODS AND RESULTS Participants from the Framingham Heart Study (n=3312; mean age, 52 years; 48% women) underwent multidetector CT im...

The pericardium is a sac that normally consists of two apposed serous surfaces that surround a closed potential space. The pericardial space normally contains 5 to 50 mLs of serous fluid. This potential space is complex in that various reflections of pericardial tissue create sinuses (in this circumstance a sinus is defined as a depression or cavity formed by bending or curving) within the peri...

BACKGROUND Malignancy is the most common cause of effusive pericarditis with a haemodynamically significant amount of pericardial fluid. Early diagnosis and management of malignant pericarditis may significantly improve outcomes. AIM To evaluate retrospectively the rate and clinical presentation of malignant pericarditis among patients undergoing invasive treatment, with a view to identificat...

Pericardial cysts are most commonly located at the cardiophrenic angle or, rarely, in the posterior or anterior superior mediastinum. The majority of pericardial cysts are asymptomatic and are found incidentally. Symptomatic pericardial cysts present with dyspnoea, chest pain, or persistent cough. We describe four patients with symptomatic pericardial cysts who were treated with either echocard...

Although the measurement of transmural pressure is important, calculation of transmural pressure is complicated by the difficulties in measuring pericardial pressure. Recently, flat balloons have been proposed to measure pericardial pressure. Over a wide range of volumes, right ventricular diastolic pressure and pericardial balloon pressure were similar in diastole, suggesting that the right ve...

OBJECTIVES This study compares the long-term performance of the Carpentier-Edwards (CE) porcine bioprosthesis and the CE pericardial bioprosthesis for aortic valve replacement (AVR). BACKGROUND With new bioprostheses on the horizon, there is renewed interest in how the long-term durability of current pericardial bioprostheses compares with the traditional porcine bioprosthesis. METHODS We r...

We herein report the case of a 65-year-old man with pericardial involvement associated with autoimmune pancreatitis. Chest CT imaging showed pericardial thickening. The patient responded to corticosteroid therapy, and the pericardial thickening resolved. Multiple organs are involved in immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disease (IgG4-RD); however, only a few cases of IgG4-related chronic constric...

left ventricular free wall rupture is responsible for up to 10% of in-hospital deaths following myocardial infarction. it is mainly associated with posterolateral myocardial infarction, and its antemortem diagnosis is rarely made. one of the medical complications of myocardial infarction is the rupture of the free wall, which occurs more frequently in the anterolateral wall in hypertensives, wo...

we report a rare case of brucellosis presenting with pleural and pericardial effusions in a 35 year-old male rancher in iran with fever and dyspnea. such findings should prompt inclusion of brucellosis in the differential diagnosis in endemic areas.

Hemodynamic instability is the major concern in surgical patients with pericardial diseases, since general anesthesia and positive pressure ventilation may precipitate cardiac tamponade. In advanced constriction diastolic impairment and myocardial fibrosis/atrophy may cause low cardiac output during and after surgery. Elective surgery should be postponed in unstable patients with pericardial co...