title: [Cardiac symptoms due to pectus excavatum in a man over the age of 55].
abstract: A healthy 59-year-old man, a retired general practitioner, suffered from increasing palpitations, fatigue and postural dyspnoea: bending over led to a significant increase in his shortness of breath. Cardiological and pulmonological examination, performed at regular intervals, showed occasional supraventricular arrhythmia and nodal tachycardia but did not yield a satisfactory explanation for the symptoms. In the years that followed, the physical impairment became a considerable handicap. Finally, the patient himself suggested a possible explanation on the basis of an Internet search: his pectus excavatum. A literature search confirmed this hypothesis. A lateral chest X-ray in bending position and a CT-scan of the chest revealed compression of the heart by the sternum. Ten years after the onset of symptoms, a modified Ravitch operation finally brought nearly complete recovery.
authors.affiliation: frank.guldemond@hag.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: F I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Guldemond
authors.forename: P F H M
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Höppener
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kragten
authors.forename: Y D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siebenga
mesh_terms: D005660:Funnel Chest / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome