Constrictive pericarditis after coronary artery bypass.

Abstract

A 67-year-old male patient received a coronary artery bypass graft. Less than 2 months afterward, he presented with recurrent exacerbations of congestive heart failure. His response to a standard treatment regimen for heart failure was partly successful, but a few days after discharge he was readmitted for worsening dyspnea and edema. Doppler echocardiography suggested the hemodynamics of constrictive pericarditis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed thickened pericardium with exudates in the pericardial space. Cardiac catheterization confirmed the diagnosis, showing equalization of diastolic pressures of the left and right ventricles. The patient underwent subtotal pericardiectomy with resolution of the pericardial disease, but he died from respiratory insufficiency.