Atrial myxoma in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Tex Heart Inst J. 2013;40(4):462-4.

Abstract

Atrial myxoma is the most common primary cardiac tumor. Patients with atrial myxoma typically present with obstructive, embolic, or systemic symptoms; asymptomatic presentation is very rare. To our knowledge, isolated association of atrial myxoma with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has been reported only once in the English-language medical literature. We report the case of an asymptomatic 71-year-old woman with known hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in whom a left atrial mass was incidentally identified on cardiac magnetic resonance images. After surgical excision of the mass and partial excision of the left atrial septum, histopathologic analysis confirmed the diagnosis of atrial myxoma. The patient was placed on preventive implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy and remained asymptomatic. The management of asymptomatic cardiac myxoma is a topic of debate, because no reports definitively favor either conservative or surgical measures.

Keywords: Abnormalities, multiple/diagnosis; cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic/diagnosis/physiopathology; heart atria/pathology; heart neoplasms/diagnosis/pathology/surgery; myxoma/diagnosis/pathology/surgery; risk factors.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Asymptomatic Diseases
  • Cardiac Surgical Procedures
  • Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / complications*
  • Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / diagnosis
  • Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional
  • Echocardiography, Transesophageal
  • Female
  • Heart Atria / pathology
  • Heart Neoplasms / complications*
  • Heart Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Heart Neoplasms / surgery
  • Humans
  • Incidental Findings
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Myxoma / complications*
  • Myxoma / diagnosis
  • Myxoma / surgery
  • Treatment Outcome