This is to clarify the hemodynamic changes following pericardiectomy in patients with chronic constrictive pericarditis. for which eight cases were studied pre-and post-operative states of constrictive pericarditis by cardiac catheterization and/or direct puncture of the heat.
Central venous pressure dropped to 137 mm H_2,O after pericardiectomy from 278 mm H_2,O of preoperative state.
Preoperatively high right heart pressure returned to normal after operation, mean pressure of each chamber in 8 cases falling as follows; right atrial distolic- from 15.6 mmHg to zero, right atrial systolic from 18.3 mmHg to 8.3 mmHg, right ventricular diastolic- from 13.4 mmHg to zero and-end-diast-olic from 16.9 mmHg to 1.6 mmHg, and right ventricular systolic from 38.9 mmHg to 32.2 mmHg.
Characteristic right ventricular diastolic "dip" followed by high diastolic plateau disappeared after operation, and pulse pressure was also widened.
The left ventricular diastolic pressure also returned o near zero after operation by regaining he expansibility of the left venricle, resulting in increased diastolic filling and increasing the left ventricular systolic pressure to 115.1 mmHg from preoperative level of 94.8 mmHg, Thereby normal hemodynamic pattern was regained after operation, ensuring increased stroke volume.
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