Pericardial cyst/chest pain/shortness of breath

I am 47 yr female, just diagnosed with a pericardial cyst at 7 cm...chest pain and shortness of breath started end of July, went to ER had EKG, Echo...was told to see cardio doc that was going to take 3 weeks to see so I went to my general doc...he ordered a couple more tests for me while cardio guy was away....was told I had a hole in my heart and that a TEE would confirm size of hole....cardio doc gone again so I gave up on him and went to another cardio doc about an hour away...he got me in asap and ordered TEE and CTA which determined the hole was small and would be fine with monitoring but that the CTA showed the pericardial cyst....didn't like the size of it so just sent me for a MRI...waiting results and decision on what direction to go...he talked about draining or maybe VATS?   Any thoughts?    I was told most of these are benign...hoping results come in the next few days.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

Pericardial cysts are usually detected as incidental findings on X rays or CT scan. They are usually asymptomatic. If symptomatic, the cyst can usually be treated by a needle passed through the chest wall with ultrasound or CT guidance to drain it. Ethanol is sometimes injected in the drained space to keep the cyst from recurring. Please discuss this with your doctor am sure he will provide further assistance.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.