Open AccessTreatment of Pericardial Disease
Author(s) -
Azam Salman,
Hoit Brian D.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
cardiovascular therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.818
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1755-5922
pISSN - 1755-5914
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-5922.2010.00151.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pericardium , constrictive pericarditis , cardiac tamponade , pericarditis , acute pericarditis , disease , tamponade , heart disease , surgery , pericardiectomy , cardiology , intensive care medicine
The pericardium is composed of visceral and parietal components. In view of the pericardium's simple structure, pathologic processes involving it are understandably few. However, despite a limited number of clinical syndromes, the pericardium is affected by virtually every category of disease, including infectious, neoplastic, immune—inflammatory, metabolic, iatrogenic, and traumatic. Thus, the recognition of pericardial heart disease remains challenging. Treatment of pericardial disease is also problematic in that there is a paucity of randomized, placebo‐controlled trials from which appropriate therapy may be selected and important clinical decisions assisted. This article reviews pericarditis and its sequelae, pericardial effusions, cardiac tamponade and constrictive pericarditis,