Prognostic importance of mitral e′ velocity in constrictive pericarditis

Increased medial mitral annulus early diastolic velocity (e′) plays an important role in the echocardiographic diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis (CP) and mitral e′ velocity is also a marker of underlying myocardial disease. We assessed the prognostic implication of mitral e′ for long-term mortality after pericardiectomy in patients with CP.

We studied 104 surgically confirmed CP patients who underwent echocardiography and cardiac catheterization within 7 days between 2005 and 2013. Patients were classified as primary CP (n = 45) or mixed CP (n = 59) based on the clinical history of concomitant myocardial disease. On multivariable analysis, medial e′ velocity and mean pulmonary artery pressure were independently associated with long-term mortality post-pericardiectomy. There were significant differences in survival rates among the groups divided by cut-off values of 9.0 cm/s and 29 mmHg for medial e′ and mean pulmonary artery pressure, respectively (both P < 0.001). Ninety-two patients (88.5%) had elevated pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) (≥15 mmHg); there was no significant correlation between medial E/e′ and PAWP (r = 0.002, P = 0.998). However, despite the similar PAWP between primary CP and mixed CP groups (21.6 ± 5.4 vs. 21.2 ± 5.8, P = 0.774), all primary CP individuals with elevated PAWP had medial E/e′ <15 as opposed to 34 patients (57.6%) in the mixed CP group (P < 0.001).

Increased mitral e′ velocity is associated with better outcomes in patients with CP. A paradoxical distribution of the relationship between E/e′ and PAWP is present in these patients but there is no direct inverse correlation between them.