A congenital absence of the pericardium diagnosed by echocardiography.

A 29-year-old man visited our office after experiencing palpitations at night. The electrocardiogram revealed premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), and he was admitted to our hospital for further tests. The echocardiography revealed paradoxical motion of the interventricular septum. After considering results from a previous cardiac catheter test, we suspected that the patient may have a congenital absence of the pericardium. A CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging were inconclusive, but through echocardiography and ECG performed during three positional changes we diagnosed a congenital absence of the pericardium.