Case report: cardiac tamponade resembling an acute myocardial infarction as the initial manifestation of metastatic pericardial adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Pericardial malignancies are uncommon, usually metastatic, linked to terminal oncology patients, and rarely diagnosed premortem. A very small number of patients will develop signs and symptoms of malignant pericardial effusion as initial clinical manifestation of neoplastic disease. Among these patients, a minority will progress to a life-threatening cardiac tamponade. It is exceedingly rare for a cardiac tamponade to be the unveiling clinical manifestation of an unknown malignancy, either primary or metastatic to pericardium. We present the case of a 50-year-old male who was admitted to the emergency department with an acute myocardial infarction diagnosis that turned out to be a cardiac tamponade of unknown etiology. Further studies revealed a metastatic pericardial adenocarcinoma with secondary cardiac tamponade. We encourage considering malignancies metastatic to pericardium as probable etiology for large pericardial effusions and cardiac tamponade of unknown etiology.