Surgical Treatment of Constrictive Pericarditis

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Burak Can Depboylu, Parmeseeven Mootoosamy, Nicola Vistarini

    Texas Heart Institute Journal
    |May 3, 2017
    PubMed

    Insights

    Constrictive pericarditis, a serious heart condition, can be effectively treated with early pericardiectomy. This surgical procedure offers good symptomatic relief for patients with thickened pericardium, preventing further heart failure.

    Area of Science:

    • Cardiology
    • Cardiac Surgery

    Background:

    • Constrictive pericarditis is the end stage of chronic pericardial inflammation, leading to impaired heart function and heart failure.
    • Fibrous thickening and calcification of the pericardium restrict diastolic filling and reduce cardiac output.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To describe the surgical approach for constrictive pericarditis.
    • To summarize surgical outcomes in 93 patients.
    • To provide a literature overview on the condition and its treatment.

    Main Methods:

    • Diagnostic imaging including echocardiography, CT, and MRI to assess pericardial thickness and diastolic dysfunction.
    • Cardiac catheterization to confirm diagnosis and differentiate from restrictive cardiomyopathy.
    • Surgical pericardiectomy with decortication.

    Main Results:

    • Early pericardiectomy with complete decortication is the preferred treatment.
    • The procedure offers good symptomatic relief when performed before severe myocardial atrophy.
    • Surgical outcomes in 93 patients were summarized.

    Conclusions:

    • Early surgical intervention is crucial for managing constrictive pericarditis.
    • Pericardiectomy can significantly improve patient outcomes.
    • Prompt diagnosis and treatment are key to preventing irreversible heart damage.

    Keywords:
    Cardiac surgical procedures/methodspericardiectomy/methods/mortalitypericarditis, constrictive/complications/diagnostic imaging/etiology/physiopathology/surgerypericarditis/diagnosis/etiologypericardium/pathologysurvival rates/trendstreatment outcome

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