A Floating Heart: A Case of Congenital Pericardial Agenesis Associated with Atrial Septal Defect

Congenital absence of the pericardium is a rare condition. Diagnosis and management of this condition remain a dilemma for clinicians. Here, we report a case of 15-year-old boy who had complaint of palpitation. Considering the echocardiographic features, pericardial agenesis associated with atrial septal defect (ASD) was suspected and multimodality imaging was performed for subsequent confirmation. Mal-aligned septum leads to failure in ASD device closure; therefore, the defect was repaired surgically by using a Dacron patch. Physicians need to be aware of this disorder and its associated congenital abnormalities, to enable them to make a correct diagnosis and treatment plan.