Pericardial Effusion and Compressive Disorders of the Heart: Influence of New Technology on Unraveling its Pathophysiology and Hemodynamics

Constrictive pericarditis and cardiac tamponade cause severe diastolic dysfunction, but do not depress systolic function until the agonal state has been reached. Multimodality cardiovascular imaging has brought the nuances of pericardial disease to the domain of the practicing cardiologist. This introduction is a revised article originally written by the late Dr Shabetai for a pericardial diseases textbook which was not published. He was the editor of previous Pericardial Diseases issue for Cardiology Clinics in the 1980s, it is most appropriate to begin our issue with his insights. The remaining articles describe advances in diagnosis and management, focusing on clinically important aspects of pericardial diseases.