A rare cause of pericardial disease

Abstract

Among cardiovascular diseases, pericardial disease has specific characteristics. Its etiology, diagnosis and medical management are not as well understood as in coronary and valvular heart disease. In most cases, its cause is benign, although the proportion decreases with more severe clinical presentation. The authors present the case of a 35-year-old man with no relevant past medical history, who went to the emergency department with what appeared to be an idiopathic case of acute pericarditis. However, over the following five months, there was an unfavorable evolution to constrictive pericarditis, requiring pericardiectomy. The final diagnosis was only made following surgery - a rare case of a primary pericardial tumor, a mesothelioma.