Constrictive pericarditis echocardiography and ultrasound

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Huda A. Karman, M.D.

Constrictive pericarditis can present with typical echocardiographic findings, such as normal systolic function, a plethoric inferior vena cava, a restrictive mitral inflow pattern with respiratory variation, reversal of expiratory hepatic vein flow, a septal motion suggestive of enhanced ventricular interaction, or an elevated early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E′) detected by tissue Doppler imaging

Constrictive pericarditis can present with typical echocardiographic findings, such as

• normal systolic function
• a plethoric inferior vena cava
• a restrictive mitral inflow pattern with respiratory variation
• reversal of expiratory hepatic vein flow
• a septal motion suggestive of enhanced ventricular interaction,
• an elevated early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E′) detected by tissue Doppler imaging