**5.4 Treatment**

Treatment of constrictive pericarditis is dependent on the course of the disease at the time of evaluation. For early subacute disease in patients who are hemodynamically stable, medical therapy similar to that used for acute pericarditis is recommended. Patients who present with the evidence of late chronic disease (cachexia, pericardial calcifications, and hepatic dysfunction) or those who have failed conservative management with anti-inflammatory therapy can be treated with pericardiectomy [63]. The majority of patients achieve symptomatic relief with early surgical removal of the inflamed pericardium [69] with one study reporting up to 69% of patients being symptom-free at 4 year follow-up [65].
