Sina Homaee
1 
, Shahriar Nikpour
2 , Zahra Davoudi
3 , Alireza Ebadi
4 , Farnaz Saberian
5* 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Adult Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5 Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Ascites, edema, dyspnea, and other non-diagnostic manifestations are among the various signs and symptoms of constrictive pericarditis. It is included in the differential diagnosis of several disorders that affect the heart, liver, pulmonary system, and other organs. In this report, a 44-year-old man presented with abdominal distention, sleep apnea, and lower extremity edema from one year ago. He was misdiagnosed as having right-sided heart failure, but one month later, he manifested icter, ascites, gross volume overload, elevated jugular venous pressure, and edema. Transthoracic echocardiography was compatible with constrictive pericarditis, and cardiac MRI also demonstrated constrictive pericarditis. We performed a total pericardiectomy and ventricular decortication via sternotomy. Patient’s symptoms then alleviate following surgical pericardiectomy, since no complaint was detected yet. Constrictive pericarditis, a potentially fatal and uncommon condition, should be considered among the differential diagnoses in patients with ascites and edema.