A case of constrictive pericarditis with local thickening of the pericardium without manifest ventricular interdependence

This is the first case report: of postsurgical constrictive pericarditis co nfined to the left ventricle in which the majority of diagnosis tests were not indicative of the disease. A 50-year-old woman with a past history of m itral valve replacement was admitted for right heart failure. Cardiac cathe terization showed impaired diastolic filling but lacked the characteristic ventricular interdependence recently reported to be specific for the diseas e, without manifest radiological appearance of pericardial thickening. Howe ver, a new technique using magnetic resonance tagging cine revealed pericar dial adhesion, limited to the left ventricle, which was confirmed during pe ricardiectomy, After the surgery, right heart failure and diastolic filling abnormality disappeared with restoration of normal heart pressures. Copyri ght (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.