title: A huge cardiac hydatid cyst: An unusual cause of chest pain revealing multivisceral hydatidosis in a young woman.
abstract: Hydatid disease remains endemic in some parts of the world. Cardiac hydatidosis with multivisceral involvement is uncommon but potentially fatal. We report the case of a 36-year-old Tunisian woman admitted with chest pain and T-wave inversion in the inferior leads on her electrocardiogram. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large hydatid cyst in the epicardium throughout the left ventricle. Thoraco-abdominal computerized tomography (CT) scan showed several hydatid cysts in the left lung, the liver, and in both breasts. After one week of albendazole treatment, surgical excision of the cardiac cyst on cardiopulmonary bypass was carried out as well as excision of the pulmonary and breast cysts. The postoperative course was uneventful and albendazole treatment was continued for six months. Though hydatid cardiac involvement is very rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of atypical chest pain in young patients, especially those living in regions where hydatid disease is endemic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hedi Chaker Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia ; Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Salma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Charfeddine
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hedi Chaker Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia ; Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Souad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mallek
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Habib Bourguiba Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia ; Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Majdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gueldiche
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hedi Chaker Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia ; Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Faten
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Triki
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Habib Bourguiba Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia ; Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Hela Ben
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Jmâa
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Habib Bourguiba Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia ; Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Imed
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Frikha
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hedi Chaker Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia ; Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kammoun
keywords: Cardiac hydatid cyst; Chest pain; Hydatid disease