A rare case of pericardial hemangioma with bloody pericardial effusion

Benign Pericardial Hemangioma-A Rare Cause of Cardiac Tamponade

Pericardial tumors are very rare. It can be primary or secondary, of which secondary tumors are more common. Pericardial hemangiomas are extremely rare primary neoplasms and there are only very few cases published in the literature. These patients can be asymptomatic. When symptomatic, they present with dyspnea, palpitation, or atypical chest pain. Severity of symptoms depends on the size and location of the tumor. Pericardial effusion with features of cardiac tamponade can lead to a life-threatening situation. Here, we report a case of pericardial hemangioma in a patient who presented with breathlessness and tamponade which was diagnosed preoperatively with computed tomography.

An unusual case of acute cardiac tamponade caused by a cardiac hemangioma

Cardiac hemangiomas are exceedingly rare and can lead to cardiac tamponade. Cardiac tamponade is a true medical emergency that can cause cardiovascular collapse and death if not managed appropriately. There are many causes of cardiac tamponade such as trauma, autoimmune causes, and malignancy. Cardiac tumors are difficult to diagnose and may be present on advanced imaging including cardiac MRI. For patients with cardiac tumors causing tamponade, emergent pericardiocentesis and cardiovascular surgery consultation are necessary in management. We present a unique case of cardiac tamponade caused by a cardiac hemangioma.

Chronic pericardial effusion in the setting of pericardial capillary haemangioma: a case report and review of the literature

Introduction

Cardiac haemangiomas are rare vascular tumours of the heart accounting for less than 5% of benign primary cardiac neoplasms. They are sometimes diagnosed incidentally, since patients can be asymptomatic. The clinical presentation in symptomatic patients, however, is variable, depending on size and exact localization of the tumour. Although cardiac haemangiomas have been reported everywhere in the heart, those localized in the pericardium are extremely rare.

Case presentation

A 48-year-old female patient with a history of pericardial effusion and pneumonia was admitted to our hospital with progressive dyspnoea on exertion. Echocardiography demonstrated recurrence of pericardial effusion with ‘swinging heart’. Further investigation by computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and coronary angiography revealed a hypervascular pericardial mass with typical ‘tumour blush’ after contrast injection. The tumour could be resected in toto by open heart surgery, and histological evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of a pericardial capillary haemangioma. There were no signs of recurrence of neither the pericardial effusion nor the tumour during follow-up.

Discussion

We here report a very rare case of a pericardial haemangioma in the adult which was diagnosed by multi-modality workup of recurrent pericardial effusion. This case illustrates that in the setting of chronic pericardial effusion non-inflammatory and non-malignant causes should be taken into account.

Pericardial Haemangioma: A Common Tumour in an Unusual Location: Case Report and Review of Literature

Overall incidence of primary cardiac tumour ranges from 0.0017% and 0.27% at autopsy. Cardiac haemangiomas are rare, and account for 2.8% of benign cardiac tumours. Pericardial haemangiomas, in particular are extremely rare. Pericardial haemangiomas are reported to present with a variety of symptoms such as dyspnea, palpitation, atypical chest pain. Other symptoms like obstruction of blood vessels, cardiac tamponade, or pericardial effusion may result due to compression of surrounding structures. Here, we report a case of pericardial haemangioma in a patient who presented with breathlessness and cough.

Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia as first manifestation of right atrial hemangioma during endovascular treatment of intracranial arteriovenous fistulas

We report the description of a cardiac mass occupying almost the entire right atrium in a young man who developed paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia during endovascular treatment of intracranial arteriovenous fistulas. The mass was detected at echocardiographic examination, its tissue characteristics were defined with cardiac magnetic resonance and it was successfully surgically removed. The histopathological findings were consistent with a mixed type cavernous-capillary hemangioma of the heart. The intriguing co-existence of cardiac hemangioma and cerebral arteriovenous fistulas, to the best of our knowledge, has not been previously reported in English Literature.