A congenital absence of the pericardium diagnosed by echocardiography

• Published in: International journal of cardiology 2007-06, Vol.118 (3), p.e89-e91
• Main Authors: Nakashima, Dainari, Nakaboh, Ayumi, Shinozuka, Tomohiro, Hasegawa, Koji, Nakagawa, Atsushi, Kojima, Shigeyuki, Hamada, Hidefumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Cardiovascular; Congenital absence of the pericardium; Echocardiography in position changing; Echocardiography, Doppler - methods; Follow-Up Studies; Heart Defects, Congenital - complications; Heart Defects, Congenital - diagnosis; Heart Defects, Congenital - diagnostic imaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Pericardium - abnormalities; Pericardium - diagnostic imaging; Risk Assessment; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; Ventricular Premature Complexes - diagnosis; Ventricular Premature Complexes - etiology
• ISSN: 0167-5273; 1874-1754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2007.01.036

Abstract A 29-year-old man visited our office after experiencing palpitations at night. The electrocardiogram revealed premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), and he was admitted to our hospital for further tests. The echocardiography revealed paradoxical motion of the interventricular septum. After considering results from a previous cardiac catheter test, we suspected that the patient may have a congenital absence of the pericardium. A CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging were inconclusive, but through echocardiography and ECG performed during three positional changes we diagnosed a congenital absence of the pericardium.