Pericardial Agenesis as a Rather Unusual Cause of Palpitations: We Only See What we Know

Cardiac palpitations secondary to ventricular ectopic beats are a frequent clinical indication for a cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scan. CMR has already demonstrated its additive diagnostic value in patients with frequent arrhythmias even when echocardiogram appears normal. Hereby, we describe a case of a middle-aged male patient referred to our laboratory because of frequent ventricular ectopic beats and an inconclusive echocardiogram due to an extremely poor acoustic window. A diagnosis of pericardial agenesis (PA) was made explaining patient symptoms and arrhythmias previously detected. Furthermore, at the case report description, PA prevalence, associated cardiac pathologies, and novel CMR diagnostic criteria are being described.