A case report of ventricular dysfunction post pericardiocentesis: stress cardiomyopathy or pericardial decompression syndrome?

We report a case of transient biventricular dysfunction post therapeutic pericardiocentesis, with classic features of stress cardiomyopathy (SCM). In our patient, the clinical and echocardiographic features were more in keeping with Takotsubo-type SCM than pericardial decompression syndrome (PDS). Our case is instructive in challenging our understanding of the aetiology of LV dysfunction complicating pericardiocentesis, and in highlighting the importance of careful clinical evaluation (altered heart rate and dyspnoea) in suspecting acute LV dysfunction after initial clinical improvement with pericardial aspiration. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12947-015-0026-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.