Constrictive Pericarditis: a Practical Clinical Approach

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) represents a form of severe diastolic heart failure (HF), secondary to a noncompliant pericardium. The true prevalence of CP is unknown but it is observed in 0.2 –0.4% of patients who have undergone cardiac surgery or have had pericardial trauma or inflammation due to a variety of etiologies. Despite its poor prognosis if untreated, CP is a potentially curable disease and surgical pericardiectomy can now be performed at low perioperative mortality in terti ary centers with surgical expertise in pericardial diseases.
Source: Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research