Embolic stroke and cardiac papillary fibroelastoma

Papillary fibroelastomas are rare, benign, primary cardiac tumors. They are, however, the most common primary tumor of the cardiac valves and may cause great morbidity risk from embolization. This paper reports the case of a healthy 34-year-old man who presented with symptoms of a right occipital embolic stroke. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed a papillary fibroelastoma on the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve. The papillary fibroelastoma was surgically excised and he has had no recurrent symptoms. This case illustrates the importance of obtaining a transesophageal echocardiogram to investigate a possible embolic source in patients with ischemic stroke.