Pericardial lipoma: benign tumor as a cause of low-pressure cardiac tamponade

Abstract

Cardiac tumors are rare and cardiac lipomas represent a small fraction of them. Most of these tumors differ in clinical manifestations, diagnosis, morphology and size, making them difficult to diagnose. We report the case of an 80 years old female patient, with progressive dyspnea and decompensated heart failure, who developed pericardial effusion and subsequent cardiac tamponade. After transthoracic echocardiography and thoracic computed tomography, pericardial lipoma was evidenced as the cause of low pressure cardiac tamponade.