Atypical Chest X-Ray Calcification in an Idiopathic Constrictive Pericarditis Case

Abstract EN

Constrictive pericarditis is an uncommon cause of heart failure.

It is a clinical entity caused by thickening, fibrosis, and/or calcification of the pericardium.

We present a 50-year-old female patient who was admitted to our institution with a 6-month history of progressive dyspnea on exertion, abdominal swelling, and lower extremity edema.

Her chest X-ray revealed an oblique linear calcification in the cardiac silhouette.

Transthoracic echocardiography revealed biatrial enlargement.

Left ventricular size and systolic function were normal.

Cardiac computed tomography revealed the pericardial thickening (>5 mm) and heavy calcification in left atrioventricular groove.

Simultaneous right and left heart catheterization showed elevation and equalization of right-sided and left-sided diastolic filling pressures, with characteristic dip, and plateau.

Pericardiectomy was performed which revealed a thick, fibrous, calcified, and densely adherent pericardium constricting the heart.

The postoperative period was uneventful and was in NYHA functional class I after 3 months.