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Atrial myxoma: an unusual cause of myocardial infarction

Mesut Demir1, Onur Akpinar, Esmeray Acarturk

  • 1Faculty of Medicine, Cardiology Department, Cukurova University, Adana 01330, Turkey. mdemir@cu.edu.tr

Texas Heart Institute Journal
|January 6, 2006
PubMed

Insights

A large left atrial mass caused an inferior myocardial infarction by embolizing to a coronary artery. Surgical removal confirmed a myxoma, leading to a full recovery.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Cardiac Pathology

Background:

  • Atrial myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors.
  • They can cause embolic events, leading to various clinical manifestations.

Observation:

  • A 55-year-old woman presented with an inferior myocardial infarction.
  • Imaging revealed a large, irregular, left atrial mass prolapsing into the mitral valve.
  • Coronary angiography showed tumor vascularization near the right coronary artery.

Findings:

  • The left atrial mass was surgically removed and pathologically diagnosed as a myxoma.
  • The myxoma was the source of a coronary artery embolus causing the myocardial infarction.

Implications:

  • This case highlights the importance of considering cardiac myxomas in patients presenting with myocardial infarction, especially when embolic sources are suspected.
  • Timely surgical intervention for cardiac myxomas can lead to favorable patient outcomes.

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