Clinical features of heart failure induced by pericarditis and myocarditis

The clinical condition of heart failure induced by pericarditis is expressed as cardiac tamponade or constrictive pericarditis. In both conditions, cardiac filling is impaired either by pericardial fluid or nonelastic pericardial sac under increased diastolic pressure and cardiac output is reduced. Patients show signs of right side heart failure. Immediate pericardiocentesis or pericardiotomy is required for cardiac tamponade, and pericardiectomy is essential for constrictive pericarditis. The clinical expression of myocarditis ranges from asymptomatic state to fulminant fatal congestive heart failure. Recently, identification of viral infection, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has contributed to the diagnosis of myocarditis, involving cases of idiopathic congestive cardiomyopathy.