Acute hemodynamic effects of pericardial closure in man

The acute hemodynamic effects of pericardial closure were studied in 30 patients with normal left ventricular function, who were undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Closure of the pericardium resulted in decreases in arterial blood pressure (P less than 0.01), cardiac index (P less than 0.001), mean right atrial (P less than 0.001), mean pulmonary artery (P less than 0.001) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (P less than 0.001). The observed hemodynamic changes are probably caused by a change in the ventricular pressure-volume relationships.