Benign Pericardial Hemangioma—A Rare Cause of Cardiac Tamponade

Abstract

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.

Pericardial hemangioma presenting as chest pain

“…Intramural hemangiomas are histologically diverse and may be capillary, cavernous, or arteriovenous hemangiomas. Intramural cardiac hemangiomas may contain other tissue elements, particularly fat, and occasionally fibrous tissue, similar to intramuscular soft-tissue hemangiomas [4].…”

MR imaging of primary benign cardiac tumors in the pediatric population

“…Usually, the first instrumental approach is done with transthoracic echocardiogram, which shows a hyperechogenic lesion. In infants, it is also frequently associated with pericardial perfusion and tamponade [ 68 ]. Furthermore, CMR is of fundamental importance in the diagnostic pathway: tumors exhibit a variable and heterogenous signal intensity at T1-and T2-weighted images, with most commonly a hyperintensity appearance at T2W TSE [ 22 ].…”