Episode Details

CardioNerds (Dr. Dan Ambinder and Dr. Rick Ferraro) join Dr. Mansi Oberoi and Dr. Mohan Gudiwada from the University of Nebraska Medical Center discuss a case of constrictive pericarditis. Expert commentary is provided by Dr. Adam Burdorf, who serves as the Program Director for the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The case discussed involves a 76-year-old woman with a history of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and squamous cell carcinoma was admitted to the hospital for worsening shortness of breath, swelling in lower extremities, hyponatremia, and urinary tract infection. CT chest to evaluate for pulmonary embolism showed incidental pericardial calcifications; the heart failure team was consulted for the management of her decompensated heart failure. Echo images were nondiagnostic. Subsequent invasive hemodynamic monitoring showed elevated right and left-sided filling pressures, diastolic equalization of LV and RV pressures, and positive RV square root sign with ventricular interdependence. Cardiac MRI showed septal flattening on deep inspiration and septal bounce, suggestive of interventricular dependence. After a heart team discussion and with shared-decision making the patient opted for medical management owing to her comorbidities and frailty.

Enjoy this 2024 JACC State-of-the-Art Review to learn more about pericardial diseases and best practices for pericardiectomy (Al-Kazac et al., JACC 2024)