PLoS ONE (Jan 2019)

Impact of pericardiectomy on exercise capacity and sleep of patients with chronic constrictive pericarditis.

  • Dirceu Thiago Pessoa de Melo,
  • Flavia Baggio Nerbass,
  • Ana Luiza Carrari Sayegh,
  • Francis Ribeiro de Souza,
  • Viviane Tiemi Hotta,
  • Vera Maria Curi Salemi,
  • Félix José Alvarez Ramires,
  • Ricardo Ribeiro Dias,
  • Geraldo Lorenzi-Filho,
  • Charles Mady,
  • Fábio Fernandes

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223838
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 10
p. e0223838

Abstract

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BackgroundHeart failure is associated with exercise intolerance and sleep- disordered breathing; however, studies in patients with chronic constrictive pericarditis are scarce. The purpose of our study was to assess exercise capacity and sleep in patients with chronic constrictive pericarditis (CCP) undergoing a pericardiectomy.MethodsWe studied consecutive patients scheduled for pericardiectomy due to symptomatic CCP. Were performed quality of life (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire-MLHFQ) and sleep questionnaires (Epworth, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-PSQI), serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), serum C-reactive protein, transthoracic echocardiography, cardiopulmonary exercise test and overnight polysomnography immediately before and six months after pericardiectomy.ResultsTwenty-five patients (76% males, age: 45.5±13.8 years, body mass index: 24.9±3.7 kg/m2, left ventricular ejection fraction: 60±6%) with CCP (76% idiopathic, 12% tuberculosis) were studied. As compared to the preoperative period, pericardiectomy resulted in reduction in BNP (143 (83.5-209.5) vs 76 (40-117.5) pg/mL, p = 0.011), improvement in VO2 peak (18.7±5.6 vs. 25.2±6.3 mL/kg/min, pConclusionPatients with symptomatic CCP showed reduced exercise capacity and sleep-disordered breathing. After pericardiectomy, there was improvement in exercise capacity and neutral effect on sleep-disordered breathing.