Cardiac tumours

Cardiac tumours Cardiac tumours are most often secondaries from malignancies of breast, lung or malignant melanoma. Primary tumours of the heart are most often benign, of which about half are myxomas. Malignant primary tumours of the heart contribute to about a quarter of the primary cardiac tumours. The commonest primary malignant tumour of the heart would be a sarcoma [1]. Cardiac tumours may present with cardiovascular or constitutional symptoms. Sometimes they are incidentally detected on echocardiography or other imaging modalities. Left atrial myxoma on echocardiogram Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging can give additional information during the evaluation of cardiac tumours. CT has better spatial resolution than MRI and is useful for staging and treatment planning, especially for surgical resection of the tumour. CT also provides information on vascularity and calcification. MRI provides information about vascularity and has better tissue characterization and has no radiation risk [1]. A review mentioned that angiosarcoma is the most common malignant cardiac tumour contributing to 30% while rhabdomyosarcoma contributed 20% [2]. They also mentioned that about 10% of all tumour patients develop cardiac metastases, but they seldom manifest clinically. About three fourths of myxomas arise in the left atrium, while about a fifth arise in the right atrium. Ventricular myxomas are still rarer. Myxomas are usually pediculated tumours so that a left atrial myxoma...
Source: Cardiophile MD - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs