Citation

Choi JH, Uhm JS, Lee SE, Chun KH, Lee HJ, Lee SH, Hong GR, Lee MH. Korean Circ. J. 2015; 45(4): 333-336.

Affiliation

Department of Cardiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Korean Society of Circulation)

DOI

10.4070/kcj.2015.45.4.333

PMID

26240588

PMCID

PMC4521112

Abstract

Constrictive pericarditis is an uncommon post-inflammatory disorder characterized by a variably thickened, fibrotic, and frequently calcified, pericardium. Etiology of the constriction can occur for many reasons. Although foreign bodies are not the common cause of constrictive pericarditis, the long-term presence of foreign bodies, like bullets, is presumed to cause chronic constrictive pericarditis even after a very long asymptomatic period. A 69-year-old patient with atrial flutter was admitted to the hospital. A cardiac computed tomography showed a bullet located adjacent to the right atrium. The transthoracic echocardiography showed a thickened pericardium and septal bouncing motion, which were compatible with constrictive pericarditis. The history of the patient revealed an injury by gunshot during the Korean War in 1950. Radiofrequency ablation of the atrial flutter was performed, and after ablation, the bullet was removed surgically. The patient was discharged home after surgery without complications.

Language: en