Incidental Left Ventricular Hydatid Cyst in a Patient with Chest Pain: A Case Report

Hydatid disease is an indolent parasitic infection caused by Echinococcus. The disease is transmitted through the ingestion of uncooked, contaminated vegetables and can infect almost any human organ, commonly the liver, followed by the lung, and rarely the heart. A computed tomography scan is the modality of choice for identifying hydatid cysts, and magnetic resonance imaging is for identifying complications. The definitive treatment includes surgery, with the possible use of antihelmintics in inoperable cases. To avoid fatal complications, hydatid disease must be treated as soon as it is diagnosed. This case highlights a peasant farmer rearing livestock who presented with chest pain and was incidentally found to have a mass in the left ventricle by transthoracic echocardiography. Further imaging found a large hydatid cyst in the left ventricular wall that was causing chest pain, possibly from the mass effect or compression of the left anterior descending artery.