A Simplified Method for the Diagnosis of Constrictive Pericarditis in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

Enhanced ventricular interdependence is a highly sensitive and specific criterion for the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis (CP), but simultaneous ventricular measurements can be challenging at cardiac catheterization. Ejection times (ETs) correlate with stroke volumes and can be easily measured from arterial pressure tracings.To assess respirophasic changes in pulmonary artery (PA) ETs and aorta (Ao) ETs as a marker for enhanced...