Transient midventricular ballooning syndrome with thrombus post pericardiocentesis in a patient with malignant breast cancer.

One day after pericardiocentesis for pericardial effusion in a patient with malignant breast cancer, the clinical and echocardiographic examination for recurrent dyspnea suggested stress cardiomyopathy with mid left ventricular ballooning and thrombus rather than pericardial decompression syndrome. Physicians should therefore pay attention to the possibility of ventricular dysfunction with thrombus post pericardiocentesis and to differences between stress cardiomyopathy and pericardial decompression syndrome. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:53-57, 2017.