title: A rare cause of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: primary pericardial mesothelioma masquerading as pericardial constriction.
abstract: We present a case of a 30-year-old woman with a history of HIV and hepatitis C who sought medical attention because of severe oedema of the lower limbs and abdomen. CT of the chest showed a thickened pericardium, and cardiac catheterisation demonstrated constrictive physiology. She underwent pericardiectomy, but the procedure was unsuccessful because the pericardium was densely adherent to the myocardium. After consultation with several pathologists, she was diagnosed with primary pericardial mesothelioma (PPM), an exceedingly rare cardiac tumour with a fatal prognosis. She died within 3 months of presentation. The details of the case as well as pertinent literature are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Shravan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nosib
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baniak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002305:Cardiac Tamponade / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D010496:Pericardium / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D011859:Radiography