Primary heart tumors

Primary heart tumors are significantly less common than secondary tumors.

Benign tumors

Benign heart tumors include:

Myxoma of the heart

In 80% of cases it is located in the left atrium, in 15% in the right atrium, in 5% in the left or right ventricle.

Clinical signs

• in case of embolization: ischemia of organs supplied by the embolized artery;
• in case of mitral orifice obstruction: dyspnoea, increased fatigue, cough, haemoptysis, pulmonary edema;i
• n case of tricuspid orifice obstruction: symptoms of right heart failure.

Cardiac myxoma can be accompanied by a variety of non-specific symptoms.

Diagnostics

• Anamnesis
• Physical exam
• Echocardiography

Therapy

• surgical removal,
• echocardiographic monitoring.

Carney syndrome = complex myxoma syndrome.

• This is a rare syndrome in which myxoma of the heart is associated with:
  • multiple pigmented nevi,
  • adrenocortical hyperplasia
  • pituitary tumors,
  • multiple fibroadenomas of the breast,
  • Sertoli's testicular tumort,
  • cutaneous myxomas

Rhabdomyome

More detailed information can be found on the page rhabdomyome

Malignant tumors

Sarcomas

• Angiosarkoma, rhabdomyosarkoma (fibrosarkoma, liposarkoma, osteosarkoma),
• they occur at any age,
• most often in the right atrium,
• clinically: manifestations of heart failure, arrhythmias, precordial pain, pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade, sudden cardiac death; embolization (tumor masses, thrombi; often into the CNS), pulmonary edema, syncope (in left atrial tumors); extracardiac metastases (lungs, mediastinum, spine, etc.); very unfavorable prognosis (approx. 3 months),
• diagnosis: weight loss, clubbing fingers, heart failure, arrhythmias, pericardial friction murmur, diastolic murmur at the tip / regurgitation systolic murmur; the most ECHO, CT and MRI,
• therapy: surgical removal, but mostly only palliative surgery.

Links

Related articles

• Heart tumors

Literature

• KLENER, P, et al. Vnitřní lékařství. 3. vydání. Praha : Galén, 2006.
• VANĚK, Ivan, et al. Kardiovaskulární chirurgie. 1. vydání. Praha : Karolinum, 2003. 236 s.