Constrictive pericarditis is a rare disorder that occurs when the thin sac that surrounds and protects the heart becomes stiff and thick, limiting the heart’s ability to pump blood. Symptoms may ...

Common causes of constrictive pericarditis include prior heart surgery, a history of radiation therapy, infections such as tuberculosis, chest injury, and other possible factors. Constrictive ...

In this Journal feature, information about a real patient is presented in stages (boldface type) to an expert clinician, who responds to the information, sharing his or her reasoning with the reader ...

Myocarditis and pericarditis are conditions that involve heart inflammation. Myocarditis affects the heart muscle itself, while pericarditis impacts the pericardium — the layer of tissue that ...

Measuring the BNP level (b-type natriuretic peptide) can help distinguish these two entities, which have historically been quite difficult to diagnose. In constrictive pericarditis, the BNP level is ...