A case of transient constrictive pericarditis in rural Nova Scotia

Abstract

This case report describes a 32-year-old female who presented with severe dyspnea and exertional intolerance to an emergency department in a rural area of Nova Scotia. The diagnosis was made by corroborating the value of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, the level of N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide, and a transthoracic echocardiogram, which respectively showed an inflammatory pattern, myocardial strain, and classic sonographic findings consistent with constrictive pericarditis. The patient was treated with oral colchicine, naproxen, and prednisone resulting in complete resolution of laboratory and sonographic abnormalities. Availability of echocardiography in a rural setting can promptly and definitively diagnose and rule out many structural and functional disorders of the heart, including rare pathologies such as constrictive pericarditis.