Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2025

An Intact Pericardium Ischemic Rodent Model
Published on: September 2, 2021
Constrictive Pericarditis: A Diagnostic Conundrum
Aryan Mehta1, Mridul Bansal1, Yashashwi Pokharel1
1Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, USA.
Abstract:
A 65-year-old male presented with chest pain, tachycardia, tachypnea, and diminished breath sounds. His lab investigations revealed an elevated leukocyte count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and B-type natriuretic peptide. Transthoracic echocardiography and chest imaging revealed the presence of pericardial effusion without tamponade and he was treated for presumed acute idiopathic pericarditis. He was started on indomethacin and colchicine but he stopped them prematurely due to side effects. Subsequently, he developed pleural effusions and ascites requiring multiple thoracenteses and paracenteses. Due to equivocal echocardiographic findings, he underwent invasive hemodynamic measurements which demonstrated equalization of filling pressures and ventricular interdependence, confirming constrictive pericarditis. Due to ongoing pericardial inflammation on cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, he was treated with a prednisone taper. Due to persistent symptoms and fibrosis of the pericardium on cross-section imaging, he underwent pericardiectomy. He did well with the procedure and has had an uneventful clinical follow-up.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Pericarditis II: Clinical Features and Diagnostic Tests
Pericarditis III: Medical Management
Rheumatic Heart Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Mitral Stenosis II: Clinical features and Diagnostic Tests
Acute Coronary Syndrome III: Diagnostic Studies
Cardiomyopathy IV: Restrictive Cardiomyopathy

