Constrictive pericarditis overview
|
Constrictive Pericarditis Microchapters |
|
Differentiating Constrictive Pericarditis from other Diseases |
|---|
|
Treatment |
|
Case Studies |
|
Constrictive pericarditis overview On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Constrictive pericarditis overview |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Constrictive pericarditis overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor-In-Chief: Muhammad Umer Tariq, M.D., Atif Mohammad, M.D.
Overview
Pericardial constriction occurs when a fibrotic, adherent pericardium restricts diastolic filling of the heart. Variants of constrictive pericarditis have been described such as transient, subtle, effusive and chronic, depending on the course of the disease. The disease process typically begins with pericardial inflammation that progresses onto fibrosis. (Pathophysiology)It may occasionally follow an episode of acute pericarditis. There is fibrous scarring of the pericardium and usually fusion of the visceral and parietal pericardium. [1] [2] [3]. The pericardium is composed of a double-layered sac that surrounds the heart and the roots of the great vessels. The serous layer (smooth visceral) and a fibrous layer (tough parietal) of the pericardium encloses the pericardial cavity which contains pericardial fluid.The pericardium function is to protect the heart against infection and to provide it with lubrication. Constrictive pericarditis is a chronic inflammation that leads to the thickening, fibrosis, and scarring of the pericardial sac. The thickened fibrotic pericardium restricts the normal late diastolic filling in constrictive pericarditis and results in significant respiratory variation in blood flow in the ventricles. This is known as ventricular interdependence, where the amount of blood flow into one ventricle is dependent on the amount of blood flow into the other ventricle.The intrapericardial space contains 50 mL of plasma ultrafiltrate that minimize friction during cardiac motion. pericarditis causes that can trigger the development of constrictive pericarditis are tuberculosis, viral infection, radiation therapy, trauma, post-cardiac surgery. Constrictive pericarditis is most commonly caused by conditions or events that cause inflammation to develop around the heart, including idiopathic, infectious (viral, bacterial, tuberculous, fungal, parasitic ) and purulent pericarditis. It can also occur post MI (Dressler syndrome), post surgical (CABG), post radiation therapy. Constrictive pericarditis can also be caused by or associated with connective tissue disease, pulmonary asbestosis, chronic renal failure, neoplasm (mesothelioma). Constrictive pericarditis must be differentiated from restrictive cardiomyopathy. The evaluation of ventricular interdependence between the two ventricles is the best objective method to distinguish the two syndromes. Constrictive pericarditis should also be differentiated from cardiac tamponade, right-sided atrial tumors, such as myxomas, superior vena cava syndrome, right-sided valvular abnormalities (tricuspid stenosis or tricuspid regurgitation), systolic or diastolic congestive heart failure( pressure-overload and myocardial, valvular, or atherosclerotic disease causes)
Historical Perspective
- In 1989, Hatle et al reported the two characteristic features in constrictive pericarditis:[4]
- First, they showed dissociation between intrathoracic and intracardiac pressures
- Second, enhanced ventricular interaction can also occur
Classification
Pathophysiology
Causes
Differentiating Pericardial constriction from other Diseases
Constrictive pericarditis must be differentiated from restrictive cardiomyopathy as they are treated very differently. Multi-modality imaging including echocardiography with flow and tissue doppler imaging, cardiac MRI and heart catheterization are used to differentiate between the two conditions that may present with similar clinical signs and symptoms. The finding of ventricular interdependence (respiratory variation of mitral and tricuspid flows) as demonstrated by different imaging modalities is key in differentiating the two syndromes.
Epidemiology and Demographics
Constriction can occur after almost any pericardial process. Historically, the most common etiology was tuberculosis, but in the modern age, this cause now accounts for <2% of cases. In a study of 95 patients undergoing pericardiectomy at Stanford, no cause could be found in 42% of patients. 31% occurred after radiotherapy, particularly following high dose mantle radiation for Hodgkin’s disease. Pericardial constriction occurred a mean of 85 months after radiotherapy, but occurred as early as 1 month and as late as 244 months. It also occurred post-operatively in 11% of cases. Connective tissue disorders accounted for 4%, neoplasm 3%, uremia 2% and sarcoidosis for 1% of cases. The likelihood of a constrictive pericarditis diagnosis is less than 10 in 100,000 hospital admissions considering only 9% of acute pericarditis patients develop pericardial constriction. This disease is more prevalent in males with a male-to-female ratio of 3:1. Constrictive pericarditis has been documented in people 8-70 years of age, with a median of 61 years of age.
Risk Factors
Constrictive pericarditis (CP) is rare and is usually developed as a complication of acute pericarditis. Although there are no established risk factors for constrictive pericarditis, prospective studies have shown an increased risk after long-term follow-up of acute pericarditis.
Natural History, Complications, and Prognosis
Diagnosis
Diagnostic Study of Choice
History and Symptoms
Physical Examination
Laboratory Findings
Electrocardiogram
X-ray
Echocardiography and Ultrasound
CT scan
MRI
Other Imaging Findings
Other Diagnostic Studies
Treatment
Medical Therapy
Interventions
Surgery
Primary Prevention
Secondary Prevention
References
- ↑ Mehta A, Mehta M, Jain AC. Constrictive pericarditis. Clin Cardiol 1999; 22:334-44.
- ↑ Cameron J, Oesterle SN, Baldwin JC, Hancock EW. The etiologic spectrum of constrictive pericarditis. Am Heart J 1987; 113:354-60.
- ↑ Ling LH, Oh JK, Schaff HV, et al. Constrictive pericarditis in the modern era: evolving clinical spectrum and impact on outcome after pericardiectomy. Circulation 1999; 100:1380-6.
- ↑ Hatle LK, Appleton CP, Popp RL (1989). "Differentiation of constrictive pericarditis and restrictive cardiomyopathy by Doppler echocardiography". Circulation. 79 (2): 357–70. doi:10.1161/01.cir.79.2.357. PMID 2914352.