Cardiologists aren't knowledgeable about all aspects of constrictive pericarditis because it is so rare. My cardiologist didn't know about the head pressure thing either. She also didn't know about...
I developed constrictive pericarditis following earlier heart valve surgery. When I was 48 years old, I had a pericardiectomy at the Mayo Clinic. That was definitely the right decision for me. As a...
Hi Lisa, After I made the decision to have surgery, I sent my medical records to the constrictive pericarditis cardiology specialists at Mayo and Cleveland Clinic (Drs. Oh and Klein), and asked that...
Hi Lisa, At Mayo, I had what they call a "total pericardiectomy". They removed as much pericardium as they could reasonably reach, even on the back of the heart. My understanding is that even with a...
Hi rockchick63, The first symptoms that I noticed were a feeling fullness in my chest and stomach, early fatigue while exercising, and pressure in my head when bending over. My doctor noticed that...
To rockchick63, Trevor, and anyone else trying to navigate the complications of constrictive pericarditis and when to have surgery: When I developed constrictive pericarditis at age 47, I did a lot...
I have been diagnosed with constrictive pericarditis, and am scheduled to have a pericardiectomy on June 1st with Dr. Schaff at the Mayo Clinic. My constrictive pericarditis was most likely caused by...
I was diagnosed with possible constrictive pericarditis about a year ago, and recently the diagnosis has been confirmed by cath and followup echo. This probably was a result of heart valve surgery...