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Role of echocardiography in the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis

Jacob P Dal-Bianco1, Partho P Sengupta, Farouk Mookadam

  • 1Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : Official Publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
|January 10, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Diagnosing constrictive pericarditis (CP) is challenging. Newer echocardiographic methods analyzing myocardial deformation aid in recognizing CP and distinguishing it from restrictive cardiomyopathy.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Medical Imaging
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Constrictive pericarditis (CP) diagnosis is clinically challenging.
  • Echocardiography is crucial for diagnosing CP.
  • Distinguishing CP from restrictive cardiomyopathy is difficult.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an update on constrictive pericarditis (CP).
  • To review the pathophysiology and hemodynamic features of CP.
  • To discuss echocardiographic techniques for diagnosing CP.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on constrictive pericarditis.
  • Focus on Doppler echocardiography and myocardial deformation imaging.
  • Analysis of interventricular interdependence and ventricular mechanics.

Main Results:

  • Newer echocardiographic techniques improve CP recognition.
  • Myocardial deformation analysis differentiates CP from restrictive cardiomyopathy.
  • Specific echocardiographic findings (interventricular interdependence, preserved longitudinal, attenuated circumferential deformation) are diagnostic of CP in heart failure patients with normal ejection fraction.

Conclusions:

  • Echocardiography, particularly myocardial deformation imaging, is vital for diagnosing CP.
  • Understanding specific echocardiographic patterns aids in differentiating CP from other conditions.
  • This review highlights the utility and limitations of echocardiographic methods in CP diagnosis.

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