Nonconstrictive epicarditis mimicking a cardiac mass in a 71-year-old Caucasian man: a case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Isolated cases of epicarditis are rare. Thus far, all have occurred with constrictive physiology as most cases involve both parietal and visceral pericardium. We report the first case of asymptomatic epicarditis that involved only the visceral pericardium presenting without constrictive physiology. CASE PRESENTATION: A 71-year-old male with a history of atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, pericardial effusion, type-2 diabetes and hypothyroidism presented with 5 weeks of fatigue and 1 day of dizziness. Physical examination was significant for pallor and tachycardia. Laboratory analysis revealed a hemoglobin count of 7.2 g/dl and iron deficiency anemia. The patient was transfused and evaluated by endoscopic ultrasound. A polypoid mass in the gastric cardia was found and later diagnosed as gastric adenocarcinoma (staged as T1N0M0). The pericardial effusion was evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography which showed a 2.0 × 2.7 cm mass associated with the right atrium. Transesophageal echocardiography confirmed the mass but did not reveal constrictive physiology. Whole-body contrast computed tomography failed to demonstrate metastatic disease. Biopsy of the cardiac mass revealed epicarditis without parietal pericardium involvement. Partial gastrectomy was performed to remove the gastric adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of asymptomatic epicarditis. Our case was especially unusual because the epicarditis presented as an incidental cardiac mass. The clinical picture was complicated due to the concomitant presence of gastric adenocarcinoma and chronic pericardial effusion. This case demonstrates that epicarditis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cardiac masses.