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Whats the difference between restrictive and constrictive pericarditis?

April 26, 2017constrictive difference Mathematics Medicine pericarditis restrictive

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Whats the difference between restrictive and constrictive pericarditis?

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This seems to be a case of loose terminology. There is a condition of restrictive cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle is unduly stiff, thus preventing full relaxation and contraction. It may be difficult to distinguish this clinically from constrictive pericarditis, which is a disease of the pericardium rather than the heart muscle. Unfortunately one author, see http://heart.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstrac… used the term restrictive pericarditis to mean thickening of the pericardium following cardiac surgery. As far as I can see, this usage has not caught on.