Clinical profile of cardiac myxoma: 11 years’ experience of 90 cases

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiac myxoma is a benign neoplasm that represents the most common primary tumour of the heart. Because of nonspecific symptoms, early diagnosis may be a challenge. Although the left atrium is the most commonly involved site of origin in 75% of cases, it can arise from any of the cardiac chambers. Symptoms from a cardiac myxoma are more pronounced when the myxomas are left-sided, racemosus, and over 5 cm in diameter. Symptoms are produced by mechanical interference with cardiac function or embolization. Being intravascular and friable, myxomas account for most cases of tumor embolism. The site of embolism is dependent upon the location (left or right atrium) and the presence of an intracardiac shunt. Most atrial myxomas are benign and can be removed by surgical resection.Objectives: To see clinical presentation and echocardiographic profile of cardiac myoxomas.Methods: 90 cardiac myxoma patients who admitted both in cardiology and cardiac surgery departments of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka from August 2003 to July, 2014 were studied clinically and by echocardiogram. Clinical histories were reviewed, noting age, gender, and clinical presentation.Results: There were 30 males and 60 females, ages ranged from 17 to 76 years. The commonest clinical feature was dyspnoea (94.44%), followed by palpitation (76.67%), chest discomfort (74.44%), constitutional symptoms (50%), pedal oedema (20%), syncope (14.44%), and embolization (7.7%). The mean duration of symptoms was 09.7 months.Conclusion: The clinical presentation of cardiac myxoma is often nonspecific, so high index of clinical suspicion is important for its early and correct diagnosis. The size and appearance of the myxomas correlated with the presenting symptoms.Bangladesh Heart Journal 2016; 31(1) : 18-22

A Case Series of Atrial Myxomas – A Tertiary Care Centre Experience

“…Solid tumours cause obstruction of the pulmonary or systemic venous drainage, mitral stenosis, dyspnoea and arrhythmias. Papillary cardiac myxomas cause central or peripheral embolization symptoms, such as strokes, embolisms and low haemoglobin due to fragmentation of the tumour and clot formation [12]. In our study two of our cases had chest pain with palpitations, one had dyspnoea and one had a history of recurrent stroke .…”

“…Cardiac myxomas occur most commonly between 30 to 70 years of age [12]. In our study , the age of the patients ranged from 36 to 49 years.…”

Positive calretinin stain with immunohistochemistry in a 49 year-old female with cardiac myxoma: A case report

“…Fibrosis, cystic changes, necrosis, thrombosis, calcification, and metaplastic bone formation can also be found. 1,2,9 In this case, the tumor consisting of a proliferation of spindle and stellate cells, with an oval to round nucleus, eosinophilic cytoplasm, most scattered, some form cord, nests, and some other form vasoformative rings, infiltrative between the myxoid stroma. Mitosis is not found.…”

Clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of pulmonary valve myxoma: systematic review of published case reports

“…Interestingly, pulmonary valve myxoma has a bimodal age-distribution fashion, with pediatric and elderly patients dominating the cases. In contrast, cardiac myxoma is prevalent in geriatric and adult populations, whereas pediatric cardiac myxoma is uncommon [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 24 , 25 ]. Pediatric cardiac myxoma may arise from residual primitive endocardial tissue [ 22 ].…”