Pericardial constriction

  I had 4 failed ablations to correct v-tach.  During the last ablation, a decision was made to do a heart block and implant a pacemeker.  A few days later I had pericardial effusion and tamponade.  Now, about a year and one half later, I have been diagnosed with pericardial constriction.  What are common treatment options?  How often is it progressive?  Is pericardiectomy the most common treatment?  What centers have the most experience in treating this condition and doing this procedure?  Thank you for any information you can give me.
Dear kls
If you have pericardial constriction, it is usually progressive (gets worse). Medicines can be used to treat the symptoms, but usually you end up needing a pericardiectomy. This is tricky surgery - not every cardiothoracic surgeon has experience in treating this and you do want a surgeon that has seen the condition before. I would recommend going to a large hospital that is a referral center. In addition, before any surgery, you should be evaluated by a cardiologist to make sure that you really need surgery and are likely to benefit from it.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.