Incidental Discovery of a Cardiac Thrombus Mimicking a Right Atrial Myxoma in a Young Female Patient – A Case Report

Abstract

Introduction Cardiac masses are at the attention of health specialists since the development of echocardiography. Even though imaging is an excellent tool for diagnosis, the clinical presentation, risk factors, and hemodynamic status of the patients are important in establishing the diagnosis and subsequent management. The purpose of this presentation is to assess the difficulty of diagnosis in the case of an intracardiac mass and its therapeutic management. Case report A 29-year-old female with paresthesia in the left arm and a systolic tricuspid murmur underwent echocardiography, which revealed a mass of 35/20 mm in the right atrium. Due to the high embolic risk, the patient was referred to the cardiac surgery department and underwent surgical removal of the cardiac mass, which presented the macroscopical aspect of a myxoma. However, the histopathological examination revealed a right atrial thrombus. Conclusion Right heart thrombi represent a challenging diagnosis that involves a multidisciplinary team for the diagnosis and treatment of the patient.