Cardiac echinococcosis, a multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis and treatment of this rare entity: two case reports and literature review

Abstract

We present two case reports of cardiac echinococcosis. Case 1 was a 33-year-old woman with hepatic and cardiac echinococcosis. The parasitic cyst was located intramyocardially in the free wall of the left ventricle leading to cranial dislocation of the left circumflex coronary artery (LCx). The patient was successfully operated. Case 2 was a 28-year-old woman with hepatic and cardiac echinococcosis. The parasitic cyst was located in the left ventricular myocardium in the area of the apex and manifested clinically as paroxysms of ventricular tachycardia. The ultrasound study showed a 3.2×2.8 cm cyst dislocating the papillary muscles and causing moderate mitral regurgitation.Bulgaria ranks first in the European Union in terms of the number of echinococcosis patients. Although cardiac involvement is uncommon, occurring in only 0.5%–2% of cases, it can cause a wide range of clinical symptoms. Multimodal imaging is a key step in the management of patients with cardiac involvement.

Keywords

• cardiac echinococcosis
• computed tomography
• echoc