Cardiovascular · UKMLA & AKT
Constrictive pericarditis
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test, covering how to recognise this condition. The full SA Note notes add investigations, management and complications, with practice questions on this topic.
Key high-yield points
- Globally: tuberculosis is the most common identifiable cause
- Developed world: idiopathic/viral, cardiac surgery, mediastinal irradiation (5-10 years latency)
- Highest risk of constriction: bacterial (purulent) pericarditis
- Intermediate risk: post-cardiac surgery, systemic inflammatory disease (RA, SLE), mediastinal irradiation, TB
- Low risk: viral/idiopathic, uraemia, drugs, trauma
- Mechanism: pericardial inflammation → fibrosis → thickening → calcification ('eggshell') → rigid shell impairs diastolic filling with fixed cardiac volume
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