Cor Vasa 2025, 67(3):381-385 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2024.107

(Constrictive pericarditis after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: a case report and literature review)

Veronika Šimovičováa, Marcela Dankováa, Erika Drangováb, Michal Hulmanc, Eva Gonçalvesováa
a Kardiologická klinika, Lekárska fakulta Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave a Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb a.s., Bratislava, Slovenská republika
b Oddelenie diagnostickej a intervenčnej rádiológie, Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb a.s., Bratislava, Slovenská republika
c Klinika kardiochirurgie, Lekárska fakulta Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave a Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb a.s., Bratislava, Slovenská republika

Constrictive pericarditis following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is likely to be very rare and is characterized by a relatively severe clinical manifestation. We describe the case of a 42-year-old patient, without significant comorbidities, who developed perimyocarditis after the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. It was treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Six months after the perimyocarditis episode, the patient presented signs and symptoms of heart failure. A suspicion of constrictive pericarditis was raised. The diagnosis was confirmed by echocardiography, which showed typical signs of constriction, and cardiac CT, revealing a thickened pericardium with calcifications. Pericardiectomy with partial resection of the pericardium was indicated due to local significant adhesions between the pericardium and epicardium, which prevented total pericardiectomy. The procedure resulted in good hemodynamic and clinical outcomes.

Keywords: Constrictive pericarditis, COVID-19 vaccination, Pericardiectomy

Received: December 3, 2024; Revised: December 3, 2024; Accepted: December 23, 2024; Prepublished online: June 2, 2012; Published: June 20, 2025  Show citation

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Šimovičová V, Danková M, Drangová E, Hulman M, Gonçalvesová E. (Constrictive pericarditis after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: a case report and literature review). Cor Vasa. 2025;67(3):381-385. doi: 10.33678/cor.2024.107.
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