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. 2022 May;6(2):1-4.
doi: 10.5811/cpcem.2021.9.53553.

A Rare Cause of Chest Pain Identified on Point-of-care Echocardiography: A Case Report

Brian W Chin  1 , Kassandra A King  2 , Nicholas K George  1 , Michael M Neeki  1 , Jamshid T Mistry  1   3
Affiliations

A Rare Cause of Chest Pain Identified on Point-of-care Echocardiography: A Case Report

Brian W Chin et al. Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. 2022 May.

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiac masses are a rare cause of chest pain. They can often be missed on a chest radiograph performed to evaluate non-specific chest pain and are not readily evaluated with traditional laboratory testing. However, these masses can be visualized with point-of-care ultrasound.

Case report: We present a case of a 19-year-old female presenting with intermittent chest pain, palpitations, and weakness present for two months. The patient had previously been evaluated at our emergency department one week earlier and was diagnosed with anxiety before being discharged. Besides a tachycardic and labile heart rate, physical examination and laboratory testing were unremarkable. Point-of-care cardiac echocardiography subsequently demonstrated findings concerning for a cardiac mass.

Conclusion: Cardiac masses are a rare cause of chest pain and palpitations that are easily missed. The advent of point-of-care ultrasonography has afforded us the ability to rapidly assess for structural and functional cardiac abnormalities at bedside, and incorporation of this tool into the evaluation of patients with chest pain offers the ability to detect these rare pathologies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the CPC-EM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none.

Figures

Image 1
Image 1
A) Parasternal long view demonstrating hyperechoic cardiac mass measuring 3.42 x 2.80 centimeters (arrow). B) Apical four-chamber view demonstrating same hyperechoic mass on septum (arrow).
Image 2
Image 2
Portable upright anterior-posterior chest radiograph not demonstrating appreciable cardiopulmonary disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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