Constrictive Pericarditis With Pseudocirrhosis Secondary to Compression of Right Cardiac Chambers by Huge Calcific Pericardial Cystic Mass

A 73-year-old male patient was admitted to our cardiology department with complaints of exertional dyspnea and abdominal distention of 6 months’ duration. He had complained of fatigue and shortness of breath, which corresponded to New York Heart Association class III symptoms, so his physician had put him on oral diuretics.On physical examination, his heart rate was 93 bpm. The liver was enlarged and palpable 10 cm below the right costal margin. Muffled heart sounds without murmur, venous dilatation of the extremities, neck vein distension, hepatojugular reflux, and abdominal ascites were detected. Chest x-ray showed bilateral pleural effusion but did not demonstrate a hyperdense calcific mass (Figure 1). Transthoracic echocardiography showed unclear but detected compression of right cardiac chambers, …