Primary tumors of the heart are rare, with an incidence between0.0017 and 0.19 percent in unselected patients at autopsy.1,2,3,4,5Three quarters of the tumors are benign.1,6,7,8 Nearly halfthe benign heart tumors are myxomas, and the majority of therest are lipomas, papillary fibroelastomas, and rhabdomyomas.Fibromas, hemangiomas, teratomas, and mesotheliomas of the atrioventricularnode are found less frequently; granular-cell tumors, neurofibromas,and lymphangiomas are very rare.6 Whereas rhabdomyomas are themost common primary tumors of the heart in children, myxomasclearly predominate in adults.
A left atrial myxoma was first described in 1845.9 Before 1951,the diagnosis of . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Epidemiology
Location
Pathological Findings
Macroscopic Appearance
Histologic Appearance
Clinical Findings
Embolism
Intracardiac Obstruction
General or Constitutional Manifestations
Infected Myxoma
Physical Examination
Diagnostic Tests
Echocardiography
CT and MRI
Angiography
Differential Diagnosis
Treatment
Recurrent Myxoma
Summary
Source Information
From the Department of Internal Medicine II, University of Erlangen–Nürnberg, Östliche Stadtmauerstraße 29, 91054 Erlangen, Germany, where reprint requests should be addressed to Dr. Reynen.
References
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Cardiac Myxomas
Kairemo K. J.A., Blomqvist C. P., Miettinen M., Stern R., Reynen K., Daniel W. G.
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N Engl J Med 1996;
334:1407-1409, May 23, 1996.
Correspondence
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