Catheter-based approach and invasive hemodynamics for the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis

Despite the preponderance of noninvasive diagnostic modalities available to modern day physicians, the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis requires confirmation in the cardiac catheterization laboratory prior to referral for curative surgical therapy. The classically described hemodynamic abnormalities characteristic for constriction physiology will be reviewed for each of the four cardiac chambers in this chapter, with a brief discussion of newer, more novel hemodynamic indices. The hemodynamics for constriction physiology will also be compared with the abnormalities seen in restrictive cardiomyopathy, cardiac tamponade, and effusive-constrictive pericarditis.