Congenital absence of the pericardium: A rare cause of right ventricular dilatation and levoposition of the heart

Abstract

Congenital absence of the pericardium is a rare cardiac defect with variable clinical presentations and is usually discovered incidentally. The pathology may lead to serious complications such as incarceration of cardiac tissue, myocardial ischemia, aortic dissection or valvular insufficiency. Diagnosis is not difficult so long as some tips are remembered. We present the cases of two patients with congenital absence of left pericardium. (Cardiol J 2012; 19, 4: 408-411)