Constrictive pericarditis causing mitral stenosis : a case report

Abstract EN

External compression of the cardiac valves giving symptoms is a known pathological entity we report a 35-year old male patient who presented with a history of palpitations and shortness of breath on exercise of four months’ duration.

Clinical, radiographic, electocardiographic, and ecloardiographic examination, as well as cardiac catheterization revealed mitral stenosis and constric-tive pericarditis.

After a near radical pericardiectomy, all intraoperatively measured haemodynamic data normalised and the subjective and objective clinical signs and symptoms of mitral stenosis disappeared, and mitral valve surgery was therefore unnecessary and avoidable